


Accepting the Past

by Adder



Category: Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions, Pokemon Colosseum, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Crossover, Dark Past, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gen, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-14
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-01-01 10:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 37,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1044027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adder/pseuds/Adder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rivaille, formerly a lowly thief from the faraway land of Orre, finds himself forced into become a Pokemon trainer by some local teens that mistaken him as being the new kid in town. Having made a deal with his caretaker, Grace, to change his old ways, he traverses the land of Kalos with these four twerps, gathering badges and solving the region's mysteries along the way. Every so often he is haunted by dreams of a mysterious titan war, of which the people he sees often corresponds with the Pokemon he encounters or the trainers he challenges. Just what are these strange dreams trying to tell him? Who... is he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introductions and shinanigans

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking out my first public non-OC based Fanfiction ;3; It means a lot to me when people read and appreciate my works, so any and all comments, critiques, etc. will be greatly appreciated!  
> If you came here for smut or intense romance, you ain't gonna get any. I ain't good at that shit nor will I try to be; go somewhere else  
> TECHNICALLY RiRen is going on in here, but I doubt it'll be very strong until maybe the end? Depends on what ideas I get from here to later (or if people convince me otherwise because Ren originally WAS an OC of mine rather than a form of Eren)  
> I am writing this according to the avatar in my Pokemon Y game of which I based off of Levi Heichou from Shingeki no Kyojin, as I couldn't help but roleplay him while I was playing and aaaaahhhh I just needed to write headcannon French Levi. So yes, there be spoilers from the game, manga, and anime ;^; Sorry for those who haven't caught up yet!  
> I posted some stuff on my Tumblr (mitsusagi) pertaining to this Rivaille but... yeah, anyway, here you go, enjoy~

It all started...

When I foolishly decided to stop by a Rhyhorn Racing Match.

Like, seriously, what was wrong with me? Had I really fallen so low that watching a bunch of idiots ride up and down on their little horned rock-ponies would actually amuse me?

The answer is yes, unfortunately. See, even as I sit here now, looking back on the pathetic excuse that I called my life, it makes me want to gag and retch and throw a big fit. The first 21 years were terrible. I grew up in a sketchy little town called Pyrite Town on a totally remote island called Orre, making my living off of stealing and backstabbing and all that kind of wonderful underground shit. I was somehow recruited by CIPHER to steal other people’s pokemon, who kindly lent me some beautiful Shadows to make me feel less lonely and shit. I did what they told me, making all them Team Snagem babies run and the whole underground fear me. 

It felt pretty good, I guess, to have actually risen up from being a chunk of dirt left to rot on the filthy streets of Pyrite. Sneasel and I were pretty close, and I even got my hands on a Haunter and Rapidash to seal the deal. Everything was totally hunky dory, wasn’t it? I had finally found a way to have decent meals, some decent amount of sleep, and a somewhat decent place to rest. But no matter how much I stole, I still couldn’t escape the growing emptiness in my chest.

Yeah, make fun of me if you want. Every kid has their issues and if you’re gonna make fun of mine, I outta-

Yes, Rhyhorn races. Those slow-ass beasts were hardly anything to watch, and yet everyone was screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs like it was the tournament of the ages. I had to squeeze myself into a little space beneath the bleachers in order to avoid the ticket prices, the obnoxious noise, and any snobbish eyes, as I was more interested in entertainment rather than anything else. 

It’s not like I was much to look at anyway: 5’3’’, a mess of black hair that was horrendously untamed, grey eyes that could probably suck the soul right out of ya if you so much as looked at me, gross clothes that I probably stole from somewhere and never had the time to wash lest it rained. Definitely not society acceptable.

The girl in the lead; her name was Grace, if I was listening to the cheering correctly. Apparently she was really famous and such... Though I didn’t see anything too special. Like, Rhyhorn racing... Why?

I originally didn’t plan to come to Kalos. Going back to the dark shadow that is my past, I was a thief and such until one day some goody two-shoes with a Snag Machine and everything challenged me to a battle, stripping me of my, alright I’ll say it, ‘friends’, and leaving me depressed and shit. 

Though, I guess he must have had pity on me or something, cause the kid then lugged me off to a nearby Pokemon Center, healed up my Pokemon, returned them to me, and bought some colognes to purify them with. Like... who the hell does that? I was shocked, obviously, and embarrassingly infatuated with the asshole. After all, no shit head had ever bothered to so much as look at me with an ounce of kindness. It was always pity, pity, pity...

Later on, after he practically saved the region and such, I learned his name was Ren. Which was kind of weird at first, because I could have sworn I heard that name before. And if not that name, then something similar, something with that similar feel. Ren. ren. REN. rEn? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, and it was really pissing me off.

One day, said Ren stopped by my humble abode in Pyrite Town (he got me a less than desirable room at the Hotel, which I suppose I shouldn’t complain about considering that I was dirt poor after he crushed CIPHER), asking if I’d come with him to the ‘mainland.’ Now, I wasn’t too sure what this ‘mainland’ was, but based on his goofy smile and brightly lit eyes, I figured it was probably better than the shithole I lived in, and agreed. 

Not everyone has sparkly luck like Mr. Perfect. I was supposed to meet him at Gateon Port, but somehow got on the wrong boat to Unova, which later changed its mind last minute to check out Kalos. And there I was, broke, lost, and helpless, with absolutely no method of contacting my lovely hero. Ugh.

So that pretty much catches us all up. Grace won the race, as expected, and everyone was screaming their bloody heads off while I curled up in the far corner of under-the-bleachers and covered my ears to prevent inevitable deafness. Sneasel had come out at some point to keep me company, but now that the race was over he had darted up through the spaces to scavenge us some unfinished goods. 

This next part never fails to amaze me. As I sat listening to the cleaning people walk up and down the bleachers overhead, one of them called out to someone, greeting them with a “Oh, congratulations on another race won! You were amazing as always!” The person replied with something, but I wasn’t really paying attention because Sneasel had returned to me with a hopefully-not-contaminated bag of popcorn. You would think that growing up on the streets would spare my OCD brain the trouble of worrying about such trivial matters but...

Sneasel yelped suddenly, running to stand in front of me defensively. Startled, I glanced up quickly before narrowing my eyes at the woman who now crouched in front of the bleachers, her curious eyes fixated on my figure as if I were a lost kitten or something. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I startle you?” she murmured in a soft tone, frowning as she took in our hostile glaring. Had I not trapped myself beneath the bleachers, I would have made a wild dash for the outside world, not wanting to be caught NOW of all times. 

I didn't answer her, instead slowly shifting into a one-legged kneel. Desperately my eyes searched for an escape route, but there were none. Dammit. "Are you... alone?" she asked me cautiously, almost in a pedophilic way from my perspective. I was messed up, okay

"I'm not a kid; leave me alone!" I hissed, Sneasel tensing with me. 

Looking taken aback, it almost looked as though she'd back off and leave, just like everyone else in this damn world. But she just gazed at me ever so softly, even going so far as to outstretch her arm and lightly pat Sneasel on the head. "You're both tired, aren't you? Why don't you come with me? You can leave whenever you want," she offered, withdrawing her hand when the ice/dark type started hissing at her, "I just couldn't help but notice you sneak in during the race..."

Crap, she saw that? She and how many others?! I was pretty determined to keep up the stubborn act, but something in her voice touched Sneasel and he turned on me, his eyes strangely soft. _'Levi,'_ he told me, motioning to Grace, _'We should take this opportunity. She's pretty damn serious.'_

Scowling, I was tempted to fight him, to remind him who the boss if the situation was. But I wasn't. Here I was, scared (though I wouldn't admit it), cold, and hungry, and there she was offering me free room service. I had to take it.

Grace lived in Vaniville Town with her husband Erwin, of whom was often away on naval business and such. I never got to meet the guy, but I heard he was pretty interesting. Stoic, self-sacrificing, determined, all that kind of good stuff. Almost reminded me of someone else named Erwin... Someone... close... that I...

Now that I thought about it, my memory was terrible. Every so often I'd have this weird ass dream about fighting in a desperate war where people died like, every day. It seemed pretty fucked up and I often laughed it off as a result of malnutrition, and yet every time I'd jolt awake in a cold sweat, as if it were some sort of a living nightmare.

Erwin. He was there too. In my dream, I mean. I only knew that from looking at pictures in Grace's surprisingly fancy house. Like, seriously. A raging fireplace, a flat screen television, a room all to myself, cleanliness everywhere. It was probably my sad excuse for a Heaven. And though I never physically expressed my gratitude to her, I really did live it there. It was just so... Peaceful. Calming. I didn't have to fret for once in my life. It was a change... A nice one at that.

After a bit of 'adjusting to society' lessons, I started to help out with the cleaning and stuff, wanting to earn my stay rather than sit around like a useless lump of crap. It was then that fate decided to play forth its cards. See, Grace had a son but apparently he was still living in Unova. So news somehow spread that he had returned, him being mistaken for me while I was out grooming her Rhyhorn, and I got visitors. Two neighbor girls, apparently, who had no idea I even existed until the rumours started going around town. And now, they were going to force me to socialize.

Hence, where my story truly begins...


	2. Pests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille makes a deal with the devil, meets his new travel companions, and gets himself his first real pokemon.

 

Now, I’m usually a man of presentation. I was, say, twenty or something at the time? I never really had an official birthday, so Grace suggested Christmas Day ‘because it’s the most merry time of the year.’

Ugh. Me, merry? I’m guffawing as I write this.

Back to the presentation thing. I was still in my pajamas, okay. Like, blue night shirt and pants to match, no socks, my hair a neat mess upon my head because I at least remembered to comb it. I most likely had the look of death on my face, as the shorter of the two girls kind of shied back and the taller one blinked at me as if to say ‘why the freak am I taller than you?’

“U-um, hi there! My name is Shauna, and this is my friend Serena! We’re your new neighbors!” the shorter one with the two pigtailed brown hair introduced herself. Said Shauna seemed to be an expert in the expression of happiness, because she just beamed all the sun’s light into my face.

Serena was a bit more... mellow, simply smiling and nodding at me.

For a while, I stared at them blankly, sensing Grace’s curious gaze peer out at me from the kitchen. I could almost hear her cheering me on in her head.

“... Uhh...” I began before Serena took the slight parting of my lips as a signal for her to interrupt.

“Anyway, the esteemed Professor Sycamore who lives in this region said he had a request for five kids, us three included, but I’m admittedly surprised that he knew who you were considering that you just got here,” she began, brushing back her long blonde hair in a totally ‘I know so much more shit than you’ kind of way.

“Yeah! We’ll be in the next town over to get our first pokemon ever! Meet you there, okay?” Shauna finished for her, doing a little happy jump thing and darting off towards the town gates. Serena was a bit more considerate than her hyper friend, nodding at me slowly before running off to catch up with Shauna.

I probably stood there awkwardly for a while, because even Grace’s Rhyhorn kind of shuffled around to blink at me as if to ask ‘now what are you going to do’? And to be completely honest, I had no frickin idea what the hell I was going to do. Firstly, two random chicks just came to my ‘house’, telling me that some professor guy wanted to give me a free pokemon and that he somehow knew who I was. Really, NO ONE knew who I was in this freakish region. I was a nobody. The only name I had now was Rivaille, because I had reluctantly let it slip to Grace that my real name was Levi and she decided to be smart and Kalos-ified it into previously stated Rivaille.

Rivaille, apparently pronounced hi-vei in this weird-ass place. I had no idea where the heck she got it from, but I figured it sounded cool enough and kind of stuck with it. Sneasel wouldn’t stop snickering at it at first though.

Turning, I watched as Grace sauntered over to give me a big hug, all the world’s joy in her eyes. “He’s going to offer you a chance to become a pokemon trainer, isn’t he? Oh, this is perfect!” she cheered, evidently a whole hell happier about this than I was.

Me, go on a pokemon journey? Like, I heard about it and such from Ren before I like, screwed up, but I didn’t think I’d actually be the one doing the journey. I thought he’d be the one to go around gathering badges and shit while I just looked all pleasant and such beside him. I mean, that sounded pretty simple, right?

“... UMM...” I grunted a bit louder than I had before, wriggling free from her creepily-nice hug and withdrawing to the stairwell, “Th... This isn’t like, mandatory, right? I mean, really, just think about this for a second. I’m a thug.”

Straightening, my caretaker gave me a wondrous look, as though my hesitation puzzled her. “What, do you not want to? Levi- no, Rivaille- this is your chance to start anew! You can head out into the world and make a name for yourself, one that isn’t all dark and scary and full of monsters! You can be free and not have to worry about messing up, because the world will see you as just another child anxious for adventure! Isn’t that great sounding?” she breathed, walking towards me and taking my hands in hers. They were a lot rougher than I expected... Then again, she did ride Rhyhorns for a living.

“NO, I don’t want to! I’m... I’m not good enough for something like that, seriously!” I spat, wrenching free from her hold and nearly tripping on the steps behind me. This... this was seriously too crazy and too much for an emotionally unstable guy like me. The one that should have been chosen was Ren, not me! Oh, why did I have to come...? I-If I never agreed, then I would have never have ended up here and...

And...?

Sighing quietly, Grace moved close enough so that she could cup my face in her hands, gazing down at me softly. “... Rivaille, listen to me. I want you to make a deal with me, okay?” she murmured, forcing me to look her in the eye.

Swallowing hard, I bit my lower lip slightly and nodded my head slowly, seeing as I didn’t have much of a choice but to go along with it. Whatever it was, I probably should do it to repay her hospitality and such...

“... I want you to go on this journey.” I probably scowled, but she continued anyway, “I want you to go, and try, and do everything a new and emerging ten year old would do when they first start their journey. Now, I’m not asking you to make a bunch of friends or to defeat the pokemon league, but I do want you to try your best. If by the end of your journey, whenever that may be, you come to realise that all of it was a pointless waste of your time, then you can go and do whatever you want. You can go back to where you came from, you can steal and mope and whatever else it is you do. But, if something else happens, then you can live on knowing that I was right and people can change. That there is beauty in life, and that you should never turn away from it, no matter how mocking it may seem. That is all.”

Releasing me, I weakly stumbled back onto the bottom step, my eyes wide with shock. Of course she would make her reward abstract like that. Of course she would. Because for some god forsaken reason, she cared about me. She wanted the best for me, and to her, this was her chance to make me better.

I wanted to yell at her. I wanted to insist that I was a lost cause, that just talking about this stupid deal was a waste of my time, that she shouldn’t even bother to look at me with those soft eyes when she had a son in another region that was probably far more beneficial to society than I.

But I didn’t. Turning away, I slowly ascended the stairs to my bedroom, where I dragged myself over to the neat dresser and rifled through Calem’s things for something that might fit me. In the end, I settled with a plain old blue and white jacket, blue jeans, a red baseball cap, some sunglasses in case my vampire sight got murdered by the son, and some black boots. Perhaps if there’s any stores along this journey, I’ll buy myself my own clothes and makeup for my borrowing.

Taking a final glimpse at myself in the mirror, I took a moment to poke at the slight bags under my eyes, scowling at how... I dunno, pissed off I looked. I suppose I’d have to work on that later, huh?

“Sneasel, think you can keep Grace and the others company? I want to start this one anew...” I called to the little black pokemon that was lounging on my/Calem’s bed, adjusting the strap on my borrowed bag so that it was within arms reach.

Frowning at me, Sneasel tossed aside the magazine he was looking at and sat up, a sad look on his face. ‘Wait, you’re LEAVING me?’ he exclaimed in disbelief, apparently not aware of the little deal I made (or indirectly made) downstairs.

“... Yeah, something like that. Do you mind?” I murmured, turning to scratch him under the chin. Though he continued to give me that sad look, Sneasel hugged my midsection once before nodding slowly, hugging the pokeballs of his two other friends close.

‘B-Be safe, okay? Don’t get into fights you can’t handle, a-and make sure to get plenty of sleep and eat proper meals and-’

“Sneasel, my god, you are not my mother. But yeah, sure, whatever, I’ll try to do all that,” I sighed, pulling away and descending the stairs. That would be the last time I’d see my good friend for a long while... And it kind of hurt. We had been through thick and thin, risking our asses for all kinds of stupid missions and such. But it was worth it to the end, and I was partly glad to know that he would be safe there with Grace.

Catching Grace’s pleased smile from the kitchen, I kind of waved to her before slipping out the door, shifting around my bangs a bit so that I could actually see. My hair had grown into quite the unruly mess over the years... So I suppose a trip to the Barber would be useful too.

‘Leeee...’ Rhyhorn whined as I passed, lumbering over to rub his head against my leg like an over-sized rock-kitten.

Pausing, I hesitated slightly before reaching out to pet his head, watching the joy pop up on his face as I did so. I dunno why, but it was always easier for me to get along with pokemon than humans. They just... knew me better, I guess.

Waving goodbye to him too, I silently made my way towards the gates at the center of Vaniville, ignoring any and all eyes that noticed me. Though I expected Calem was a whole hell lot more pleasant than I was, I wasn’t trying to be him. I was... well, I had no idea what the hell I was doing.

Pushing open the gates, the first thing I noticed was how short the route was. I don’t know about you, but aren’t they usually long and windy and shit? Well, this one was a convenient one-way highway to the next town; Aquacorde, apparently. Though, as I made my way to the fancy little town ahead, I couldn’t help but notice how fresh the air was. Trees and flowers and such lined the path, giving off a... pleasant sort of feel, I guess. It almost made me want to go on this journey of my own volition, haha...

Upon entering Aquacorde, I noticed Shauna and Serena waving me over to where they sat, two other guys with them. One looked kind of small and shouta-like, while the other was, and I’m going to say it, fat. Okay, fine. He was rotund, for you peoples who hate words like that...

Though I was kind of tempted to rebel and pelt off down the staircase to investigate the stores and such, I eventually swerved and took a seat beside Serena, who seemed a lot happier to see me now that I was in regular people’s clothes. “Rivaille, perfect timing! We were just talking about you,” she explained, nodding to the others.

I just managed a twitch of a smile, internally dreading this social interaction. They were talking about me? Like what, how sexy I look in PJs or something?

“Here, let me introduce you; everyone, this is Rivaille!”

Yes, you pretty much said that already.

“Whoa! Your description of him was spot on Shauna!” the rotund guy exclaimed, grinning at me goofily. I had to try really hard not to death glare him.

“Rivaille, this is Tierno. He’s got some serious dance moves,” Serena introduced with a light smile, “And that beside him is Trevor. He scores really high on tests, but he’s pretty shy.”

Joyous, we got ourselves the goofball and the nerd. What next? The main character’s love interest? Because I’m pretty sure he’s like, regions away...

I guess I was supposed to say hi or something, but I didn’t, so Tierno took it upon himself to take the conversation farther.

“Hey, it’s nice to meetcha! Oh! And you know what would make us like a real tight-knit crew? If we had nicknames for each other! Can I call you R-Meister?” he pipped, continuing to grin at me like the idiot he probably was.

I almost choked on my saliva, so that was a definite no.

“What? No! He’s a Lil’ R for sure!” Shauna exclaimed, jumping up from her seat.

You know, I usually assaulted people who made fun of my height...

Sensing my obvious discomfort, Serena frowned and glanced over at Trevor. “Hey Trevor, do you have any good ideas?”

That seemed to set the boy off. “WHAT? You want me to name someone I just met?” he wailed in a high-pitched, pre-pubescent voice, practically falling over backward in his chair, “Shauna, you shouldn’t put someone on the spot like this! ... Though, I guess if I had to... maybe something like Big R?”

I couldn’t take these people seriously. I was like, five seconds away from just bailing before Serena took my hand in hers and looked me seriously in the eye. “Why don’t you decide?” she murmured, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Okay, if I absolutely HAD to have a nickname... it had to be something sensible. Something that wasn’t stupid, that could actually stick and that I could totally be okay with without becoming homicidal.

Turning my head to gaze at all their goofy faces, I had the weirdest vision pop into my head. I was... sitting at a wooden table, the room dark and made of stone. There was one oil lamp at the center, lighting up the faces of a few select individuals. They were all smiling and laughing about something, and I apparently was amused by their happiness, but... I couldn’t make out faces. Just... a sense of belonging.

“... Heichou,” I breathed, staring down at the table that was currently in front of me. I had no idea where the hell the name came from, but when the others started chiming in, testing the name on their tongues, it just felt so... right.

“Okay, Heichou then? It fits perfectly! So exotic and different, just like you!” Shauna beamed, waving her arms around enthusiastically. Though, she quickly sat back down and spun to face Tierno, a sort of sparkle in her eyes. “Hey hey, can we see the pokemon now? I want to meet my new partner soon~” she asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

Nodding eagerly, the guy turned to place a fancy case before us, popping open the lid and revealing three pokeballs. Over each was a little element symbol: one for grass, fire, and water.

“Hey, Heichou! You should pick first, since you’re the newbie!” Shauna insisted, turning the case towards me and smiling brightly. Though I arched my brow at her suspiciously, I let my mellow gaze scan the three balls, debating my options carefully. I’ve had experience with Sneasel and Rapidash, who were fire and dark/ice types... So I figured I’d just go for what I was used for.

Grabbing the fire pokemon, I stepped aside to release it, blinking when a fluffy little fox appeared. “Oh, you picked Fennekin!” Trevor commented, nodding his approval.

A Fennekin, huh? Kneeling to pick her up, I kind of glanced her over a bit, frowning as she simply stared back at me with calm, amber eyes. She looked... familiar for some reason. But where...?

“I’ll pick this one then!” Shauna giggled, selecting the grass type and hence leaving the water type to Serena, “I’m gonna name him... Chester!”

Nicknaming, huh? I’m sure Ren did that with his pokemon too... what was it... yes, his Umbreon was Umbra, his Espeon Esper, and his Porygon was Pory. Highly original but, apparently naming pokemon increased bonds and shit. I never did that before but, if I was going to be stuck with these guys for a while...

“... You. Fox. Your name is... Mikasa now,” I mumbled, watching as the Fennekin blinked at her new name and tilted her head to the side curiously. ‘Mi...kasa?’ she murmured, her voice low and soft, ‘... Okay...’

Again, I had no freakin idea where the name came from, but it worked in the messed up void that was my brain, so I stuck with it.

“... Oh! That reminds me. I have something that will help to broaden our knowledge of pokemon...” Trevor murmured, twisting around and handing us all some sort of device thing.

Turning it over in my hand, I kind of wanted to turn around and ask Ren what the hell it was, as the guy seemed to be an expert in anything technological. Unfortunately, all I got was a blank stare from Mikasa. “... Err... what is it?” I muttered, scowling at it when I couldn’t even find a power button. If it even had one to begin with, that is...

“It’s a high-powered pokedex that automatically records the data of every pokemon you encounter and capture! It helps the professor with his research, you see, which is partly why we’re all here,” the shouta explained, nodding his head slowly. It kind of bothered me, watching his long hair bob like that... ah, I digress.

Figuring that I’d tinker with it later, I slipped the thing into my pocket and turned to let Mikasa clamber onto my shoulder, as that was what Sneasel used to do and such. Then, watching as Tierno and Trevor got up and out of their seats, the two boys waved at us, saying something about how that was it for their errand and that we should all go home to say goodbye to our families. Though I was tempted to let it slip that Grace wasn’t actually my mother, Tierno handed me a strange-scented letter anyway, directing that I was to give that to her before beginning my journey. Ugh.

Bidding us farewell, the two boys then headed off ahead, leaving me behind with my two lovely neighbors. “I’m gonna... uh... explore a bit,” I murmured dismissively, backing away towards the main stairwell.

“Okay~ But you can’t go further past the bridge without your parents’ permission!” Shauna called after me, smiling after me brightly. Serena just kind of nodded, which I suppose meant a lot.

With that, I was off, poking my nose into some shops, getting myself some free potions from a random merchant guy, and gazing out at the large river that separated Aquacorde from Route 2... Huh. For a first impression, Kalos wasn’t all that bad. Although, my opinion on my four traveling companions was a little debatable but... well, as long as they didn’t get in my way, I suppose I’d learn to put up with them. Though, I’m still curious as to who those people were in that little vision of mine... Hmm...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I finally finished NaNoWriMo for this year, so I'll be alternating between this and another work of mine! I hope this turns out how I wanted it to... I had so many plans and ideas and ahhh this is so exciting @^@ Thanks for being interested in my random idea? x3


	3. Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille gains some new party members and such.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, this chapter is pretty raw so, yeah. Grammar.
> 
> I have been in a slump soooo updating in general has been pathetic on my side of the world. Life has just been poopy, to put it simply. But that's okay, this is more for personal enjoyment and such. I think.  
> I will try to add more action and stuff next time... =3=
> 
> Also, what the hell is formatting on this site.

I’m just going to skip ahead to the part where I actually do stuff, since the delivery of the letter merely resulted in Grace saying yes, giving me a big hug, and sending me off with a map. I also happened to identify the strange scent on the letter as perfume, and that this ‘Professor Sycamore’ guy was technically flirting with a married woman with his fluffy words. Seriously, I was forced onto this shitty journey by some flirtatious ladies' man? Said journey couldn’t get any worse.

  
Though, upon re-entering Aquacorde, I was mildly startled (is startled even the right word) when I spotted Shauna waiting there, arms crossed behind her as she rocked all cutesy-like in front of me. “Hey Heichou! Do you mind if we had a quick battle? I want Chester to have his first battle-debut!” she called, smiling innocently and raising her pokeball into the air.

  
I was somewhat tempted to just decline her right off the bat. However, I was also kind of curious as to what Mikasa the Fennekin was capable of, and hence figured it wouldn’t hurt to accept.

  
“Very well...” I sighed, taking a few steps back and pulling Mikasa’s pokeball free from my pocket. I also removed my jacket quickly, draping it over my shoulders in a cape-like manner as to allow for more movability and such. I don’t know. It was comfier that way. It made up for the fact that Grace wouldn't let me wear my sketchy cloak anymore.

  
Beaming at me happily, Shauna took a few steps back herself before sending out her Chespin, said grass-type pokemon doing a little happy dance before getting into a tough-guy position. Likewise, I let Mikasa off of my shoulder, watching as she gracefully landed on the ground and raised her head almost haughtily.

  
"Okay then. Your move,” I muttered, eyeing Mikasa’s prim posture. She seemed pretty confident about her first battle. Then again, I guess one could say I've had prior experience. Was that considered 'cheating'?

  
"Chester, try a vine whip!" Shauna ordered, whipping out her index to point at Mikasa. Bouncing up and down in his understanding, Chester the Chespin tottered forward, shooting out a literal vine whip out of his hand and lashing out at his opponent.

  
'You know what to do,' I thought to myself as Mikasa took a few steps back and spewed forth a thing of flames. Said flames ate away at the vines, following them all the way to their opponent and ultimately burning Chester sufficiently.

  
"Impressive," I commented rather dully, Mikasa merely bobbing her head in understanding at my words. Prim and quiet with a slightly deadly undertone... I caught a brief glimpse of a dark haired girl with a deep red scarf before the Fennekin took a hard tackle from Chester.

  
Did I know that girl from the Underground? And if so, why the heck did a Fennekin remind me of her? Without the need of my direct orders, Mikasa shot forward, spewing hot flames in her opponent's face and watching with mild satisfaction as they fell.

  
"Oh no, Chester!" Shauna cried, snapping me back to the present.

  
Staring down at my Fennekin, I watched as she gave the Chespin a curious sniff before whipping around and sashaying back to my side. Well then. "... Good game..?" I called out to my neighbor cautiously, not quite used to being civilized yet. Back in Orre, I was quite the brute. Now? ... I'll get back to you on that one.

  
Sighing lightly, Shauna leaned over to return Chester to his pokeball, smiling at it a bit before returning her gaze to me. “You’re absolutely amazing, Heichou! Thanks so much!”

  
Why was she praising me? I mean, I practically (or rather, Mikasa had) destroyed her. I suppose that was what it was like to be an optimist... seemed lovely (I’m being sarcastic, by the way).

  
"Err... Yeah. You're welcome?" I murmured, squatting to let Mikasa back onto my shoulder.

  
I must have seemed suspicious or at least confused, for Shauna took a few steps back, pointing to the city behind her. “Race you to Route 2? Unless of course you still want to look around~?” she offered, still maintaining her ever cheerful mood.

  
The idea of still having to put up with her was a tad repulsive, and yet still I decided it was best to just go along with it as to prevent myself from developing a bad reputation so early on in my journey. It was just so freakin hard though, being someone I wasn’t. If I hadn’t made that deal, I’d be cursing left and right, giving people shit regardless of who they were, living life how I wanted it and not caring what people thought about me and why.

  
Arceus, I’m such a pathetic soul.

  
“Yeah, alright. That is, if you can keep up.” Adjusting my jacket-cape, I darted off down the steps, my movements nimble from all those years of navigating the Underground. It was just a filthy, twisted place now that I thought about it. Here, there was no crap littering the ground, the bricks and buildings were in a nice, clean condition and the air smelled fresh and almost flowery. Much better than the stench of shit and dying things, if you asked me.

  
Though Mikasa barked at me to slow down, I just kept running, weaving around some people and signs and darting onto the large bridge that lead to what I figured was Route 2. Glancing sideways, I blinked at how freakin clean the water was, the surface rippling lightly and reflecting the clear blue skies above. And as cliche as I’m beginning to sound, it really is a breathtaking sight when all you’ve grown up in a shithole surrounded by sand, sand, and more fuckin sand.  
Coming to a halt just before the first patch of long grass, I took advantage of the short time it took for Shauna to catch up to catch my breath, slouching over slightly as my heart raced in my chest, pumping adrenaline and other stress-like hormones through my veins. Ahead, I could already see the movement and hear the careless chattering of pokemon as they wandered about their natural habitats. Back in Orre, there were no such wild pokemon. You just kind of either baited them at certain resort areas or stole from other people.  
Anyway.

  
“Serena’s just over there!” Shauna pipped, somehow recovering much faster than I and raising her pokeball to the sky, “You know, her parents were really strong trainers, so she knows all about this trainer stuff! Maybe she can teach us some cool techniques!”

  
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that suggestion, a gesture she somehow picked up on. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” I sighed as she cast me a confused frown, letting Mikasa off my shoulder and trudging into the tall grass. Tsk, I’d show her. I didn’t need anyone to teach me anything.

  
My first encounter was that of a Pidgey. Mikasa the Fennekin, however, seemed pretty pumped from her previous battle and hence felled the bird rather quickly, preventing me from making use of the random pokeball I had on hand. I was well aware that the capturing of pokemon on the mainland was not much different from snagging... And yet still I couldn’t help but feel a bit insecure. I’d figure something out.

  
In the corner of my eye, I noticed Serena patiently explaining to Shauna the workings of pokeballs and the capturing of pokemon. Doing my best to seem inconspicuous, I allowed Mikasa to run around free, letting her train herself a bit while I watched the manner in which my little group mates weakened their targets and snagged (err, caught) a random Bunnelby (or that’s what the Pokedex called it).

  
“Done eavesdropping, Rivaille?” Serena called over teasing, casting me this all-knowing look before heading off ahead before I could react. Shauna simply giggled to herself before darting after her neighbor-friend, hence leaving Mikasa awkward and alone in the middle of Route 2. Oh well, at least they were considerate enough to leave some free pokeballs behind for me...

  
As completing the pokedex was the least of my concerns, I slowly made my way through the short route, primarily savouring the fresh and peaceful atmosphere. I battled some random youngster and pawned him pretty hard, encountered some bugs and a Zigzagoon, and just before I could take the time to take a good look at the large forest laid out before me, a random Fletching came swooping down, landing on my hat and pecking me like it was some sort of vulture or something.

  
“Hey you little shit, get off!” I snapped, attempting to wave it off of me. Mikasa drew back her lips slightly, growling at the little bird and pouncing on it, knocking it to the ground.

  
The Fletching let out an amused trill, an action that struck me as particularly strange. Really, most of the pokemon I encountered were either hostile or nervous, but this one seemed almost determined to get on my nerves. Heck, it kept fluttering around me as if I were some sort of a specimen, giving me these weird googly eyes and continuing its annoyingly chipper tune.

  
“Freakin little-” I hissed after Mikasa managed to knock it to the ground again. Yanking out a pokeball, I threw it at the little bird, watching as it went in and began to quaver on the ground. Huh, it really wasn’t that much different from snagging. Three awkward jitters later, the pokeball went still and a little ping! sounded in my pokedex, confirming my catch.

  
Retrieving the pokeball, I glared at its sleek surface for a bit, the image of an overly fawning girl with longer red hair, goggles, and a constantly ridiculous expression popping into my head. “Hanji,” I grumbled, stuffing the pokeball into my pocket and strolling off towards Santalune Forest. Again, I had no idea who the hell that girl was, but like Mikasa the Fennekin, it just seemed to fit so I stuck with it.

  
Damn. Those were some... big ass trees. And I mean, the ones in Agate Town were pretty big, but that was because they were like mystical and old and shit. But like, this was an actual forest, which I wasn’t used to and- ... Yes. Trees. Kind of gave me the chills for some reason... but lately, a lot of things have been giving me weird vibes. Maybe I was getting sick? That would have been the worst. First day out venturing and the plague falls upon me, reducing me into a sick, sniffling mess. Disgusting.

  
I wandered around for a bit, but it wasn’t long until Shauna found me again. “Oh, can I travel with you? I’ll heal all your pokemon, if that helps!” she asked, blinking at me in a rather... held back manner. As if she were afraid I would turn her down again. Which, I probably would have if she didn’t offer to be my healing slave.

  
“Fine. Just don’t get in my way,” I grumbled, turning away from her and stalking off further into the trees. I ended up catching a Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear, but neither really gave me this sort of weird flashback sensation. They just felt like... ordinary pokemon. I even caught a Weedle for the lulls, but even that wasn’t good enough. So, prowling onwards, I took this time to train up Hanji, ignoring her weird mannerisms as I figured she’d become more useful as a flying type as time wore on.

  
At some point Shauna somehow found a Paralyze Heal and offered it to me, of which I accepted with no real objection. In the distance I could spot Tierno duking it out with a Youngster and Trevor wandering through the grass intently searching for something, so it was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one here putting forth some effort. I even ran into Serena, but all she did was ask how many pokemon I caught (in which I lied and said I only had two) and gave me another pokeball, apparently catching my bluff.

  
The rest of the forest journey was pretty simple, my just going about my business and training and enjoying the sights while Shauna kept up her side of the deal and kept my pokemon in check. She would hum cheerful little tunes from time to time, but I never bothered to tell her to stop, as it was actually kind of nice. She really wasn’t a bad or overly obnoxious person, really. I was just... not a good person.

  
It was towards the end of the forest stretch that I noticed something a bit off about the patch of grass ahead of me; a jagged brown tail was jutting straight out, though what exactly it was supposed to be was unknown to me. It seemed kind of familiar.

  
Ever-curious Hanji fluttered forward to investigate, poking the tail and hence getting quite the mighty shock as a result. Unable to hold back a small huff of amusement, I had her fall back, swapping in Mikasa who readily rammed the what was now a Pikachu.

  
“Pikaaaa!” the electric mouse wailed, cowering from Mikasa’s wrath. Seeming surprised by her opponent’s submissiveness, Fennekin poked at it cautiously, looking to be sincerely confused.

  
“Oh! Maybe you can use this opportunity to try and catch it?” Shauna suggested, blinking at the Pikachu. Though, I was too preoccupied with something else.

  
I was like, riding a horse through a forest, surrounded by some other guys. I couldn’t tell if it was Rapidash that I was riding, but I was definitely on a horse and we were definitely running from something. Something big, something dangerous, something whose footsteps echoed in my cranium and made thinking very difficult. I felt pressured to do something, pressured by someone. But that was as far as my weird vision would go. It shifted to a kid with some sort of a blond pixie cut. He was saluting me or something, looking pretty determined and such.

  
I threw the pokeball, hitting the Pikachu square on the forehead and watching as it went in. It was somehow no surprise when all went still. “Armin,” I confirmed, kneeling to accept the pokeball from Mikasa, of whom still looked a tad confused by it all.

  
“Hurray! Heichou caught a Pikachu!” Shauna cheered, doing a little dance before running over to join me near the Santalune Forest exit. We seemed to be the first ones to get there so... I just doubled back, trained Armin up a bit (gosh he was such a whimp. But alas, Mikasa somehow managed to get his moral up, so that was good). Apparently Santalune City was home of the first gym leader... So if I wanted a strong start, I needed to get all that training shit done and over with.

  
Sigh.


	4. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille begins to understand himself, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating again because I actually have muse! Hail Arceus!  
> Also, we get some emotional turmoil. Who doesn't love emotional turmoil? ewe

 

It was late afternoon by the time everyone gathered by the exit. Shauna had insisted that we wait until they had finished, wanting to keep the beginning of our new journey as a group effort until we parted ways. Of course, I was against it at first, but the opportunity allowed me to get my party up to a decent level, so I let it go.

I also got to have a taste of what my pokemon were capable of... for example, Mikasa was swift, silent, and ruthless, yet she was also very motherly and protective over her comrades. Hanji was just a little bundle of wild energy, always fluttering about to investigate everything that so much as twitched or breathed. She also had a tendency to attack in really awkward ways, sometimes beelining her target before circling around at the last minute and aiming a hard peck at the back of her opponent's neck. It seemed pretty painful, if you asked me.

Armin was kind of weird too. He was often very self conscious and nervous, and yet if he really put his mind to it, he could take down his opponent in highly strategic manners. I even caught him bossing Mikasa around once when she was on the brink of being knocked out by a Panpour, advising her to let the water gun come before leaping and finishing with a tail whip propelled scratch.

I couldn’t tell whether I had just happened to strike gold and captured absolutely genius pokemon or if for the first time in my life I was acknowledging that they had personalities too. I mean, my Sneasel of whom I never nicknamed was pretty impulsive and snarky and such, so I’m guessing it’s the former? I was still having troubles connecting their personalities to the weird visions I had upon seeing them. The black hair girl with the scarf, the glasses girl with the ponytailed red hair, and the pixie blond... Pokemon couldn’t like, magically shift into humans, right? Heck that would be creepy. Though, even if that was true, that doesn’t explain how I know those faces.

After healing up everyone’s pokemon, the five of us walked out of the forest together, thankfully not hand in hand. Then, gathering into a loose circle, we all kind of eyed each other, noting how different everyone was becoming already. For example, Trevor seemed less terrified, and Tierno a bit more... bouncy. Shauna was all smiles despite the terrible way I treated her, and Serena held this sort of air that told me I should be careful in case she were to challenge me to a battle. Not that I would let myself lose to her... just that... she seemed like a threat, I guess. To what reputation, I have no idea.

“So guys, what are you going to do now?” Shauna pipped, beaming at everyone.

“I’m going to look for pokemon, of course,” Trevor replied calmly, glancing down at his pokedex, “The professor did send us on this journey to complete it, after all.”

“That’s cause he’s a lazy ass and won’t do it himself...” I grunted to myself, though I don’t think anyone but Mikasa heard me. And well, if they did, they didn’t show it.

Tierno turned and grinned at Trevor, apparently pleased with his suggestion. “Oh, I bet different pokemon know different kinds of moves! I sure want to see all kinds of them!” he agreed, indirectly giving his answer.

Nodding eagerly, Shauna then turned her gaze to Serena, looking to be sincerely curious. “What are you going to do, Serena?”

A slight smugness flashed across her face, though it was brief as she noticed me glowering at her. Mind you, I didn’t hate her or anything. Just something about her... did not click with me. “I’m going to Santalune City’s Gym and challenging the Gym Leader. Trainers only know how good they are by challenging and defeating them, after all,” she replied calmly, all visible arrogance absent from her voice.

“Wow, you sure know a lot!” Shauna gasped.

Serena smiled at her softly, ignoring the dark aura that was beginning to congregate around me. “That’s because mother and father taught me so much. It’s only natural that I would know these things.” Then, to add to my already foul mood, she pulled out a set of little notepads and handed them out to everyone. They read ‘Adventure Rules.’

Arceus help me. She was treating me like a child. Did she think that just because I was an ‘outsider’ that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her flawless genes? Ohohoho, I’d show her...

“Wow, thanks! I think I’m just going to spend some quality time with my Lil’ Chester!” Shauna exclaimed, slipping her booklet into her back pocket and spinning around to face me. “Say, what are you going to do then, Heichou?”

I took the liberty of silence for a few moments, lowering my gaze to listen to the soft blowing of wind in the trees behind me. Ahead there was a simple declining path to what I figured was Santalune City. Some Preschoolers were tottering about, giggling with their pokemon and facing off against some wild pokemon with little to no fear. Yes, what would you do, Levi? I asked myself this several times. One part of me was hesitant. Though the training back there went smoothly, I had a healer with me at the time. Would I last on my own? I hardly had enough supplies to handle that level of training. This region did have pokemon centers, right?

“... Heichou?”

By the time I realised she was shaking my shoulder, the others had gone. Startled, I took a few steps back, nearly stumbling into a tree. Mikasa let out an alarmed yip, hopping off my shoulder and darting off to the side of the path, looking uneasy. Yes, Ren mentioned something about this once. He said that if a trainer’s will was not equal to or greater than that of his pokemon’s, they would never obey him and their true strength would remain concealed deep within their hearts. If I had any hopes of proving to Serena my worth...

Tsk, since when did I ever worry about competition? Something was seriously wrong with me. “... Thanks for your help Shauna,” I mumbled, slipping past her and towards the Preschoolers. Excitedly, they ran over to block my path, brandishing their pokeballs. They most likely took me as an everyday chipper trainer. But they were wrong. I had Hanji crush them in a matter of seconds.

I departed for Santalune City with their confused wailing and Shauna’s startled staring at my back, unable to muster the strength to apologise or to wish I could turn back time and take a softer approach to the battle. I needed to get this sudden rage out of my system somehow. But as the sun was already dwaddling about the horizon, I decided to call it quits and was just about to enter the city, when some asshole whizzed on past me and threw me off balance.

“Sorry!” the person called behind them as I scowled at my mispositioned jacket, wanting very much to chase them down and make them sorry before reminding myself that I was supposed to be a normal human being with a normal temper and skirting leftwards towards the pokemon center.

I’m sure I made this clear already but... wow. The technology in Kalos was pretty... much. The pokemon center was combined with what appeared to be a changing room (not too sure what that was for just yet) and a pokemart, so I guess that saved the trouble of running to and fro several different buildings. The front desk was all holographic and such, displaying each of your pokemon as they were being healed.

Silently, I placed my pokemon down for healing, popping the rest into the PC. I was fine with just three. Sensing my ill mood, the nurse just smiled at me and did her job, soon returning my pokeballs to me and wishing me a good night. Though, instead of taking up roost in the town’s hotel, I wandered back out onto Route 3, finding a nice resting spot by some trees and settling down. I was used to having to duke it out in the wild, so, it wasn’t like I was punish myself for anything. Just the feeling of the cool night air on my skin was enough to help cool down my steaming head.

I stared up at the sky for a while, watching as dusk turned to night. The stars here were really clear and crisp, just twinkling up in their fixed places in the black sky, looking oh so far away. Strangely enough, I felt a small pang of sorrow wrack my gut as I gazed at the sky, almost as if all those little white specks had some sort of powerful meaning. A wish, maybe? Or a spirit gazing down at me, making sure I and the world around me was doing okay. A selfish thought, perhaps, to think that all the heavens were monitoring your movements. But it really did calm me down.

Curling into a small ball, I rested my head on my hat, using my jacket as a blanket. Mikasa hadn’t left her pokeball ever since I left the pokemon center, and I didn’t blame her. I was a terrible trainer. Not like Serena the Perfect. I wasn’t kind like Shauna, jolly like Tierno, or sensible like Trevor. I never even got close to beating Ren in a battle. I was weak, I was lost. Then again, I suppose things were always like that. My horrid personality was just a method to overcompensate for that.

That night, I had another vision. This one was a bit different from the others. I was underground somewhere, flying around somehow with two others flanking me. We were being pursued. But by who, I couldn’t tell.

‘We can’t shake them!’ The guy to my right cried, barely avoiding a sharp stalactite that protruded from the ceiling. I felt a bubble of anger rise up in me; I was frustrated. Frustrated that we were being followed. Also threatened, and scared. What if we got caught? Would we be killed, captured, tortured? The government wasn’t too fond of thieves.

I glanced at the girl to my left. She had two little pigtails, kind of like Shauna but shorter. The darkness of the cave made it hard for me to make out a face, though. I never dreamt this dream before, but I had seen this girl before. It was... when I first met Sneasel. I could never think of a name though, and just kind of ignored it. These visions of mine, I always associated them with me being crazy. No one else knew what I was talking about. No one else saw them. No one else heard the voices I heard. I’m crazy, right? That’s why my parents left me to rot. Because I was defective, dirty, useless.

When I woke, I was amazed to find a girl crouched over me, a handkerchief in hand. Tilting her head to the side slightly when she noticed I was awake, she backed up to give me time to stretch and regain my bearings, her size suggesting that she was a preschooler like everyone else on the route.

“Are you okay, mister?” she murmured, watching me with careful, innocent eyes. Blinking at her, I rubbed at my eyes, freezing when I felt faint traces of moisture. I was... crying? No, no, this had to be a mistake. I never cried. I... there was no way I...

When she got no response, the girl wandered over to lay the handkerchief in front of me, figuring that it would be best not to pry. “You can keep that; I have more, don’t worry,” she continued in that same soft voice, “My name is Isabel. What’s yours?”

I felt as though lightning had shot down from the heavens, striking my brain and recharging a broken neural network in my brain. Isabel. Isabel was the name of the girl that was ‘flying’ around next to me in that dream. Isabel was the name I indirectly gave to my most trusted friend, the Sneasel I left at home to the care of my caregiver.

“... Isabel? Your name is... Isabel...?” I whispered, staring at her with wide eyes.

She just smiled at me brightly, almost as if she could already predict exactly what was on my mind. “Yup! Anyway, it’s almost noon so you better hurry up if you want to beat the Gym. I hear someone has already gone in, so you don’t have forever,” she chirped, raising herself onto her tippytoes.

For a moment, my usual cold and apathetic facade fell away, and I allowed myself to smile down at her, suddenly warmed by her support. No, I wasn’t alone, was I? I had three very talented pokemon with me, each ready to fight for me with all their strength. I couldn’t let them down. That would be embarrassing. “Thank you,” I breathed, tousling her hair lightly before gathering together my things and running off towards the Gym.

“Good luck, Levi!” I faintly heard her call after me, and my small smile grew even wider. No, I wasn’t alone. I just needed to slow down and let the explanations come when they did.  

Now bathed in daylight, I could make out the individual shops that were scattered throughout the city. There was a boutique, a cafe, a trainer school, the gym, a Roserade-shaped fountain, and plenty of lovely places to sit, all of which I had yet to explore.

As I had awoken rather late, I decided to stop by the cafe for some tea and croissants, as I was still trying to get a hang of all the little things that made Kalos special. Exquisite food, fancy clothes, a flowery language. The complete opposite of me.

My next stop was the boutique, merely because I was curious and was still set on the whole buy my own clothes thing. This place only had hats and accessories for said hats, so I was on the brink of escaping before the salesgirl could notice me before something caught my eye.

A brief image flashed in my head, an emblem sporting a pair of wings, one white and one green. The wings of freedom. Walking over to the display case, I reached out to touch the small hat pin, noting how it looked just like the emblem I once wore proudly on my bosom.

"... How much?" I grunted once the girl strolled over to greet me.

Though she seemed a bit startled by the urgency in my words, she quietly told me the price and I fished out my wallet, handing over the money for both the tan coloured hat and the pin. She accepted it gladly, watching curiously as I fitted the hat on my head and returned Calem's red one to my bag.

Although, something still seemed a bit off. Aside from the fact that I really needed a haircut, I couldn't help but feel as though something were missing. But what...? Fishing around in my bag, I soon pulled out Isabel's handkerchief, frowning as I felt the soft fabric. It wasn't dirty, just a bit damp from my... fit that morning.

"Perfect," I breathed as I gazed at myself in the mirror for the last time, nodding at the neat cravat I had tied for myself. Though it didn't quite match up with what I was wearing, at least the handkerchief-cravat would provide as a decent scarf the more north I went.

Once I was satisfied with everything, I spun around and exited the store, the sales girl quickly calling out, "H-have a nice day!" after me. And that was the end of that.

I considered stopping by the trainer's school just for the hell of it, but soon thought against it and continued on my way towards the Gym. That's when I spotted the wonderful rollerskater from last night.

She stood nice and poised outside of the Gym, a sort of mischievous gleam to her eyes. When she noticed me approach, a wry smile danced on her lips and she planted her hands on her hips, blocking my entry. “Hey there Slowpoke, ‘bout time you get here,” she called, beaming down at me calmly.

Arching my brow, I paused a few feet away from her, one hand on one of my pokeballs in case she decided to pick a fight. “Oh? I was sure that I had no time limit in this little journey of mine,” i scoffed sarcastically, watching her carefully.

Something in my words seemed to have amused her, as she giggled a bit before doing a little spin and brandishing her pokeball. “Hey, how about we strike a deal? Beat me in a battle and not only will I give you some rollerskates of your own, I’ll also let you into the Gym. You can’t go on to Route 4 without the Bug Badge, anyway,” she suggested, winking at me.

I gave her a skeptical look, wondering if she was serious or not. Beat her and get a free pair of rollerskates? ... I had much to learn. “Fine,” I sighed, seeing no harm in it all. It seemed to me that the benefits outweighed the losses, so why not give it a try?

Grinning, the girl sent out a Zigzagoon, said raccoon dancing about before getting into position before me. As he was currently weakest in level (I have a nasty tendency to want all my pokemon to be the same level at all times, so) I sent out Armin, figuring such a battle would be interesting.

“Zigzagoon, tackle!” the girl ordered, and off her raccoon went, bobbing about to and fro as it charged my Pikachu.

Armin on the other hand, watched his opponent carefully, ears perked for my orders. “Quick attack,” I murmured, witnessing as he instead waited a few moments before darting around the Zigzagoon and ramming into it from the left.

Crying out, the raccoon stumbled about a bit before attempting to retaliate with another tackle, but it was already over once Armin easily predicted his action and struck it head on, sending it flying back a few paces before going limp with unconsciousness.

“Whoa! You’re so strong; like, Gym Leader strong!” the rollerskater girl gasped as she withdrew her pokemon and stared down at Armin with wonder.

Taking that as a compliment, I knelt to give my Pikachu a brief under the chin rub (as a slight touch to his cheeks could probably leave me paralysed for a few seconds) before returning him to his pokeball. “Yeah, probably. So, can I go now?” I murmured rather sassily, never being one for patience.

Smiling, the girl skated over to me, holding out a pair of black roller skates. “As promised, your reward! This should help you move two times as fast, and as you brilliantly proved, speed is always best!” she replied, saluting me before skating of towards Route 4.

For a second, I stood before the Gym, looking dumbfounded. Then, curious as I was, I slipped the things on, skirting around wobbily and needing the support of a nearby lion statue before teaching myself how to keep balance. Then, with a few cautious kicks, I skated off towards Route 22, my movements becoming more and more confident as I got a hang of it all. Curving down a slope, I confidently challenged some trainers, deciding to get some more training done just for precautionary reasons. This would be my first Gym battle ever. I didn’t know what to expect. So, better over-prepared than not prepared at all.

I wasn’t too sure what I was looking for as I wandered about the tall grass. Perhaps I would have a try at completing the pokedex. I had already encountered a decent amount of pokemon, caught a Psyduck for the hell of it, and was working my current party of three to good condition. Though I doubted I would be able to catch every pokemon in the region, it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

Just as I was about to exit the grass patch to call it quits for the day, a small blue blur intercepted me, holding up its little paws daringly. My pokedex confirmed that it was called a ‘Riolu’. My mind, however, registered it as something else.

I was standing beside the girl named Hanji, staring dully at a giant blue crystal. We were someplace with little light, but I could still make out the blonde haired female trapped inside. The blonde, I could feel, had caused me much trouble. Much pain, much agony. Thanks to her, I lost something very, very dear to me. And yet I couldn’t bring myself to feel angry. Why?

“Hanji!” I ordered, sending my little Fletching out and watching as she charged the Riolu. Swiftly, the blue pokemon dodged a direct peck, whipping a pound at her side and sending her off balance.

Uttering a frustrated cry, Hanji landed on the ground momentarily before charging the Riolu once more, striking it hard this time before doubling up with a quick attack. It was at this moment that I took advantage of the situation and threw a pokeball, watching with anticipation as the pokeball quivered a bit before shattering, letting the Riolu go.

“Damn!” I hissed, watching helplessly as the fighting pokemon roughly kicked Hanji aside, knocking her unconscious. Returning her, I decided to go all out with Mikasa, of whom rammed the Riolu into the red zone before I attempted another throw. This one stuck, and grudgingly I entered in her new name into my pokedex.

“Dammit Annie...”


	5. Bugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille has a try at his first Gym Battle, and has a mental break down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh sorry for the delay ;^; Depression's been a bitch recently, eheh. But hey, I finally managed to post something, even if it is a bit... short? I'm not entirely sure; the whole text length thing on this site, I'm still getting used to xD I hope you enjoy nevertheless.

 

After paying the Pokemon Center a quick visit to make sure that, yes, Hanji was 100% okay and 100% alive, I returned to Route 22 and sent out Annie, glaring her down a bit before running through my usual training drills. While it was true that I could always scrap her on the basis of 'hatred at first sight', something told me her skills would be useful later on... she was a fighting type, after all. So, throwing aside my stubborn and  nonexistent pride, I trained her, and surprisingly she was pretty cooperative.

Alas, I was finally able to allow myself to stand before the Gym, scanning it with my eyes before frowning. I was pretty sure my levels were pretty good, and even if I trained more I doubted it would change anything... so all that remained was to test our skills and will powers and shit.

So I entered, not sure what to expect. Giant photos of bugs, a sketchy pole that descended into unknown darkness... Something told me I wasn't going to enjoy this experience very much. The guy to my left was saying something about how this was a Bug-type gym and how I needed fire types or flying types or some crap like that, but obviously I didn't pay him much attention until the end.

"A girl with blonde hair came through here?" I grunted to him, startling him somehow.

Hesitantly, he nodded.

Grasping the pole with both hands, I allowed myself to hesitate a moment before dropping down, scowling when the ground I hit was not solid earth, but a giant fuckin spider web.

Guess it was too late to back off now.

Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with insects. They're just usually signs of... uncleanliness. Usually. So after I got over my little OCDs, I made my way over to a platform with a person on it, shakily reaching for my first pokeball as I did so.

"Hey there!" Said person chirped, greeting me with a smile, "Welcome to-"

"Just hurry up so I can battle you and get the hell out of here," I hissed, sending out  Armin.

Despite my ill temperament, the battles went rather smoothly. And though they dealt a lot more damage than the wild pokemon outside, I was used to having to do a majority of my training against trainers, so it didn't take too long.

Alas, I traversed the last stretch of sticky spider web, stepping onto the leader's platform with an aggravated huff. As I paused to heal up my pokemon, I vaguely caught wind of someone giggling at me, redirecting my gaze upward. There in a tent-thing was a photographer, of whom appeared to be taking great interest in my form. Uck. Pictures. I probably looked despicable.

"Why hello there, Challenger. What's your name?" she called down, removing the photograph from her camera and smiling at it proudly.

Eyeing her cautiously, I straightened and walked up the steps to meet her, my tongue nearly slipping as I sighed out "Rivaille." Really, it wasn't much different from my real name, but still. It was all a matter of using either a hard 'l' or nasal 'h'.

Blinking, the girl, who I figured was the Gym Leader Viola, looked me over a bit as if I was a new species or something. "Rivaille, huh? Reminds me of the word 'réveillé' which means 'wake up'. But hey, that's still super cool. Welcome!"

Being the socially incompetent guy I was, all I could manage was a slow nod of agreement. Réveillé? That didn't even sound close. "... Uhh, thanks...?"

Viola smiled at me, taking a few steps back and setting her photos aside. “That determined glint in your eye says you’re up for a challenge... That’s fantastic! My lens is always focused on victory, you know, so I won’t let anything ruin this shot!” she proclaimed, pulling out a pokeball and sending out a Surskit.

... Surskit. Somehow, I expected something else. Also, that catchline... Eh, I’d get used to it. If I remembered correctly, Surskit was a water/bug type so...

“Tsk. Armin!” The little Pikachu emerged with a proud ‘Pika!’, his little paws raised in an adorable little fighting stance. Like really, seeing Armin attempt to look tough was just...

Anyway. Surskit went first, using a stupid quick attack. The only problem was, it was freakin skating over the floor and darting around out of Armin’s reach, much to said Pikachu’s aggravation.

Now, normally I just let my pokemon do whatever the hell they wanted in battle, only sometimes bossing them around when they were either being stupid or whenever I noticed something they were too preoccupied to notice. However, as this was supposedly a league battle and kind of mattered, I decided to act like any other trainer for the sake of fitting with the mold and such.

“Armin, you can match it’s speed, c’mon!” I hissed, watching as my poor Pikachu got smacked around, “Freakin tail whip that thing!”

Grimacing, Armin hesitated a moment before timing his opponent’s next dash and whipping around to smack his tail into the Surskit’s face, sending it spiraling into a side wall.

“There we go! Now finish it!” I ordered, watching with mild glee as he darted forward, red cheeks sparking, before he unleashed a thundershock and blew the little water skater unconscious.

“Oh, Surskit!” Viola exclaimed, running over to check on her pokemon. Prior to her returning it and getting ready for her second and last, I leaned over to pat Armin on the forehead, withdrawing him to his pokeball and swapping out for Hanji. Much to my satisfaction, things seemed to be going rather smoothly... which was good.

“Hey, you’re not too bad Rivaille!” Viola praised as she summoned forth some demented butterfly-looking thing. According to my pokedex, it was called a Vivillon... ‘guess it was a Kalos-exclusive pokemon or something.

“... Thanks, I guess.” As Hanji shot forward to pelt the weird butterfly with a flurry of pecks, I couldn’t help but lower my hat slightly, hiding any and all signs of embarrassment from her. I wasn’t quite used to getting praise back then. Usually I was the source of misfortune and such, so, to hear from some elite gym leader person that they thought I was pretty good...

Ugh, now I’m just getting all mushy.

At this point, Vivillon hadn’t done much but try to catch Hanji in thick gusts, all of which my crafty Fletching was able to bank and navigate with relative ease. Although, when the stupid butterfly suddenly shot up to her and sprayed a bunch of creepy black stuff in her face, I knew things were about to go down.

“Hanji!” I shouted, snapping my focus back to the battle and watching anxiously as she tried to shake the crap off of her. However, telling from how fast her HP was going, it was some sort of cheap move I never heard of before... “Hanji, get back!” Much to my dismay, the black stuff only seemed to repel the pokeball’s laser, and hence I had no choice but to watch as Hanji gradually ran out of HP and plummeted back down to the ground, her song sad as she did so.

Returning her, I cursed under my breath for a moment before bringing out Mikasa, ignoring the fact that I was probably going to overkill it now and ordering her to take the bug down with a harsh ember attack. Of course that basically finished things, but to see Hanji get near death again was... frightening. It left this painful throb in my chest as if I was afraid of losing someone close, someone dear... Even though these were just pokemon who would be all spick and span after the pokemon center nurses did whatever the hell it was they did.

So as I returned Mikasa with a long sigh, I was not ready for Viola to snap another terrible photo of me before running forward with a bright smile across her face. “Fantastic! You and Armin and Mikasa and Hanji were just... fantastic! I’ve never seen a battle like that before... I mean, you easily overpowered all my tricks. So, congratulations!” she beamed, nodding to me once before holding out a badge.

It was pretty small, perhaps the size of my thumb, and was shaped like a beetle, hence the whole bug theme to everything. Hesitantly I accepted it and decided to clip it onto my hat near my ‘Wings of Freedom’ pin, eyeing the second thing she was now holding out to me suspiciously.

“Oh, and also! For beating me, I’d like to give you this TM. Do you know how to use these?” Viola added, holding out the disc.

Nodding, I accepted it and slipped it into what I figured was my TM case, remembering how rare and annoying to get these were back in Orre. And well, Shadow Pokemon couldn’t quite learn regular moves, so that only added to the annoyingness of it all.

“It’s called Infestation. Remember that black haze? Basically, it hurts your opponent’s pokemon over time and prevents them from escaping the battle. Sneaky, huh?”

Narrowing my eyes slightly as I recalled Hanji’s incident, I simply nodded my head again, as the term ‘sneaky’ wasn’t quite how I would describe it. Dark, malicious, cheap...

Behind her, the back of the tent rolled away, revealing a hidden staircase. Managing a small twitch of a smile, I kind of turned towards the exit, unsure what to do. “... Um... yeah. Thanks for... everything... I guess...” I mumbled, blinking when all she did was smile and wave goodbye. So I made my way up the stairs, soon re-emerging into the lobby and brushing past the guy from before.

Again, he tried to talk to me, saying something about how the professor would be so proud of me or something, but I just kind of ignored him and slipped outside. I had some things I needed to internalize before moving on. Maybe next time, chap.

So I spent the next hour or so sitting in the fancy pokemon center, checking up on my pokemon and struggling to come to terms with the fact that yes, I actuallu managed to win a badge (and with relarive ease too)  and yes, no one was going to die on me.

'I'm okay, I'm okaaaay!" Hanji whined after I looked her over for like the hundreth time, my hands practically shaking when she finally managed to flutter free of my grasp and take to the sky, 'Nothing's gonna happen to me!'

And though I scowled and intertwined my hands to keep them still, I couldn't help but question my motives as well. This was the second time she fainted, knocked out cold in battle because she didn't have the stats to make her last any longer.Not yet, anyway. But even though I knew this, my hands still shook, almost as if I was reliving a past trauma. Those strange visions I had every so often... were they the source of all this insanity?

Sighing deeply, I returned my pokemon to their balls, taking care to place Psyduck at front... just in case. I couldn't just keep sitting there like an idiot. I needed to keep moving.

Stopping by the Café for a quick meal, I made my way over to Route 4, beginning to get a hang of the whole roller skating thing. It kind of reminded me of something... 3DMG, whatever that was...

Once there, I was kinda-sorta-not surprised to find someone standing there and waiting for me. This whole journey seemed eerily structured, anyway.

"I see you won the Bug Badge. Congratulations," the girl greeted, reaching back to adjust her neat bun. She analysed me carefully as I paused within battle distance of her, attempting to judge my worth and my skill just from the surface.

Making a face, I merely blinked at her, silently urging her to continue with whatever it was she wanted. Presumably the professor was over at the next city waiting for me, so the sooner we got this done, the better.

“You are... one of the kids that were given a pokemon from Augustine Sycamore, correct?” she then continued, figuring that I wasn’t one for casual talk.

Again, considering that I was rather anxious to get out onto the field to clear my mind, I just nodded my head, gradually growing impatient with her.

Smiling at me, she gave me an affirmative nod, signaling that I somehow earned her acceptanace...? “Wow. For someone at your age to beat Santalune City’s Gym Leader...” she praised before pausing, her eyes suddenly widening in disblief “Oh, where are my manners! My name is Alexa. Viola is my younger sister, you see. I myself work as a journalist in a major publishing firm in Lumiose City, so the next time you have a big scoop, don’t hesitate to contact me!”

Then walking forward, she slipped something into my hand before flashing me yet another smile and walking off ahead.

... Did people seriously think I was a kid? Glowering at the weird contraption, I fumbled with the little sticky note attached to it, learning that it was apparently called an Exp. Share. Pfft. Hell yeah. Less work for me.

Heading out into the fields, I dived right into my usual training process, usually working with one pokemon nonstop until they went up a level, before switching out to work with the next. This just allowed me to fine tune their techniques and improve our ‘bonds’. Although, with this Exp. Share, the process seemed to go a lot faster, which was nice. It sure lessened the work load, anyway.

I’ve been catching a lot of pokemon recently for the heck of it, not because I actually planned to use them at some point but because I apparently had a pokedex to fill and it was kind of fun. Kind of. The whole betting on whether or not a regular pokeball would catch a certain pokemon kind of reminded me of gambling. Hah.

After battling a bunch of trainers, running to and fro town to keep my pokemon alive (as I was too lazy to spend money on healing items frankly), and catching a random Combee (which stung me and thank whatever gods are out there that I’m not allergic) and a Raltz (that was a pain in the ass because it kept teleporting), I came to a halt before a fancy gold fountain thing where I paused to rest and such.

The whole area was filled with all kinds of fancy flowers, its sharp scent tickling at my nose. I was never really one for nice smelling things... probably because I grew up surrounded by shit and trash. Ugh. Just the thought makes me want to curl up in a hole somewhere and die.

But even if such pretty things were not really my thing... I felt strangely at ease there. The area had a cool and calm aura to it, and everyone seemed to be a peace. Sure there was this one kid who was traded a Magikarp and, haha, did I pity him, but otherwise the people there seemed pretty chill about everything. Very nice.

Feeling as though I had rested long enough, I proceeded to wander into some of the flower patches, wrinkling my nose as the little frills poked at my body. I didn’t really know what to expect. Some sort of grass type pokemon? I got Mikasa ready, as she seemed pretty displeased with my neglecting her.

I did not expect the tooth fairy. Or rather, a little dainty pokemon loosely clutching one of the flower pistils. According to my pokedex, it was just that: a Fairy type pokemon. Just what the hell that was, I had no idea. But as it was new, I reached back to send out my Fennekin, when all of a sudden I felt my whole body go rigid.

Here we go again.

It was the table scene again, except one person’s face in particular was now clear and in focus. Smiling at me warming, she reached back to brush back some of her light blonde hair before offering me more tea, of which I quietly accepted. She, like the others, felt very dear to me for some reason... Almost like family. So see them all goofing off and smiling filled me with happiness as well, even if I could not express it like I wanted to. I treasured their presences. I wanted to be together like that with them forever.

The pokeball slipped from my hand and Mikasa summoned herself, not even awaiting my orders before striking out at the Flabébé. I almost screamed at her to stop but my voice caught halfway in my throat, leaving me to watch helplessly as both the flower fairy and the gentle girl in my vision went flying backward.

Blood. So much blood. So much death. It was all my fault, wasn’t it? If only I let the titanshifter do as he pleased, then they would have survived and I...

“MIKASA!” I finally choked out, scaring myself with how badly I was shaking. This was bad, this was really, really bad. I could feel myself begin to lose control. Fennekin wasn’t listening to me. So on impulse I ran forward, scooping the Flabébé into my arms and sheilding her from my own pokemon’s next attack. What was I doing? I was definitely insane.

Some minutes ticked by as I lay there, panting heavily as I tried to regain control over my basic motor functions. Luckily, Mikasa had managed to avert her ember elsewhere, instead torching a poor Budew.

“... Flaa...” Snapping my eyes open, I let my dull grey gaze meet hers, watching as she looked me over with curious sincerity. Reaching out a small, rounded hand, she touched my nose lightly before smiling brightly, singing quietly a bit before floating over to snoop through my bag. I didn’t move as she eventually found what she was looking for and pressed the little button on the pokeball, allowing herself in. It clicked without having to shake once.

Puzzled by my behaviour, Mikasa padded over and nudged the pokeball towards my hand, tilting her head to the side. ‘... Are you okay?’ she asked me softly, her voice notably cold compared to my Flabébé’s.

“... Petra,” I whispered, burying my face in my hands for a moment and exhausting a long and painful sigh, “P-Petra Ral. Special Ops Squad. They... fuckin Annie.”

Yeah, I probably wasn’t going to be headed into Lumiose City any time soon.


	6. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille finally meets the Professor... yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is embarrassing. I haven't updated since mid-January. I wish I had a sufficient excuse but I really don't, so let's just go with 'lost muse'. Yeah, I like that.   
> Anyway, I hope to get to the exciting stuff soon but there's no guarantees. Maybe I'll start a new project... We'll see.

 

At some point, I was able to get up off of my ass and back over to the fountain to heal up Petra. She seemed pretty happy to see me, doing little twirls in the air as I urged her to train up. She didn't object, following my commands obediently. Though I would’ve much liked for all my pokemon’s levels to be equal, Mikasa out-leveled Armin, Annie, and Hanji by three, and I was much too tired to completely fill that gap.

So after I payed one last trip to Santalune's pokemon center and finished up the last of my training, I spent the night at the local hotel, for last night's nap was becoming increasingly disturbing to me. Then, bright and early the next morning, I was standing before the entrance to Lumiose City, squinting my eyes at the skyline above me. It seemed... flashy. Though, no surprise there.

Upon entering the little gate that lead into the city, I couldn’t help but notice two kids talking towards the side of the exit, their voices hushed but still understandable.

"I counted four; where's the fifth?" the male hissed his back turned to me as he peered into Lumiose.

The dark haired girl beside him made a face, seeming just as clueless as he was. "Maybe they got lost? These are beginning trainers, afterall."

"But the fifth won a badge!"

"That has nothing to do with anything, Dexio! Just be patient. They'll catch up eventually. Sycamore hand picked these guys for a reason."

Figuring from the context that they were referring to me, I paused behind the duo with a grunt, hoping to gain their attention without the use of words. And apparently it worked, for they both spun to beam at me all cheerful-like.

"Oh! Hey there-" the girl began.

"Have you heard of the Fairy-type pokemon Flabébé?" the boy interrupted, the rigidity of his words suggesting that they were supposed to be running on some sort of a script.

I stared at him for a bit, as said Petra was settled neatly on my shoulder. Though, seeing as they mentioned the professor, I forced myself to keep cool and reply. "Uh-huh."

The girl reached out to smack her companion in the arm, smiling despite the look of annoyance in her eyes. "Of course he has; silly Dexio! But what I bet he didn't know was that Fairy-types are exclusive to Kalos, and that Flabébé are interesting because they all hold a different coloured flower!" she chirped, tilting her head slightly and beaming over at me.

I glanced right at Petra and she turned her little head to smile at me. She had an orange flower, much like her hair in that weird dream world...

"... Oh, err... that's neat, I guess," I managed, the whole pretending to be interested in things act beginning to get tiring.

The girl smiled, bowing once before outstretching her hand towards mine. “The name’s Sina. That over there is Dexio, if you didn’t know already. We were pokedex holders like you at one point, you know. It was all to help further the Professor’s research!” she pipped, a strange twinkle in her eye as she mentioned said Professor.

Right, I was supposed to meet the guy soon, wasn’t I? Something in my gut told me I wasn’t going to like what I was going to find, but I couldn’t like, bail at the last minute.

“So, would you mind us taking you there? Your friends have already arrived in Lumiose, mind you!”

I didn’t really need escorts, but whatever. Less work for me.   
I nodded my head stiffly, not really in the mood to talk. She seemed like quite the chatterbox, so why not indulge her in the sound of her own voice? Also, those other four weren’t exactly my friends. Not that I would say that aloud.

Beaming, Sina nodded once to Dexio before walking on ahead, her strides long and prim with her arms out at her sides like a dancer. Dexio had a similar properness to him, making me stand out a bit as I sulked after them, hands stuffed in my pockets and head bowed like the thug I really was.

The region never ceased to impress me. Lumiose was huuuuge. There were shops and  avenues and boulevards and shit (not literal) everywhere. Everyone was dressed all fancy and rich-like; even the freakin pokemon were shining with wealth (well, minus the sketchy alleyways with the sketchy people that I probably fit in with).

Just as I was about to wrap my head around all this new information, Sina and Dexio came to an abrupt pause, and I had to jerk back to keep myself from walking into them.

"Voila, we are here! The professor's Pokemon Lab!" Sina piped, clapping her hands together and twirling to face me. I in turn glanced to my left at the building mentioned, nodding slightly at its appearance.

Somehow, I expected it to be a lot more flamboyant than it actually was. The Lab was primarily yellow and green in colour, which helped to make it stand out against the mostly uniform buildings surrounding it. There were trees and such on the front lawn, which made the city feel less man-made and congested.

Shrugging to myself, I strolled past them and into the lab. It looked more like some sort of medical building at first. There was a receptionist at the counter and a waiting area with a flat screen television and old paintings hung on the wall and all.

“The professor is on the third level!” Sina called after me, figuring that I was probably the loner type.

Nodding, I slipped my way into the weird elevator toward the center of the room. Three floors, eh? For curiosity’s sake, I went to the 2nd floor first, where I was met with a bunch of nerdy control panels and shit. Some lady felt it wise to give me some Luxury Balls and told me some stuff about friendship and shit in the meantime, but evidently I wasn’t really paying attention. So after I B.S’d a farewell, I ascended to the 3rd floor.

The 3rd floor was much less medical facility like and much less nerd-like. There were large red carpets, some laptops, and rows of books, as well as the vague scent of some sort of cologne... Also, my four companions were no where in sight. I wasn’t lost, was I? That would’ve been terribly embarrassing.

Turning around the room divider, I was instantly met with a rather... err... pleasant looking man with sleek black hair, loosened collar, and white lab jacket. I could tell the source of the cologne was him, a scent that accurately matched that of the letter I had to relay to Grace. Joyous. The region’s professor was a total lady’s man. Lovely.

“Ah, welcome! And many thanks for coming all this way from Vaniville Town!” the professor greeted, holding out his arms in a rather flamboyant manner. I just stared at him, admittedly confused as to whether or not I was supposed to say something.

Smirking, the professor let his arms go slack at his sides, seeming to recognise my more reserved nature. “As you may have figured, my name is Professor Sycamore! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you... ah...”

“Rivaille.”

“Ah, yes, Rivaille! I’ve heard many a good things about you already. Tell me, how has your pokemon journey been so far? Have you seen lots of pokemon?” The professor asked with a smile, holding out his hand.

I stared at his hand, unsure as to what it was he wanted from me. A written journal? Because I sure as hell didn’t do that. “It was... okay?” I finally spoke up, arching my brow at his gesture. If it was a handshake he wanted, he’d need to sanitize thoroughly first before-

“That’s good! Can I see your Pokedex then?”

OH. That actually made sense. Damn, now I felt slow. Fishing around my pockets, I eventually handed the thing to him, watching silently as he did his stuff and scanned through the contents of my pokedex.

Professor Sycamore smiled a bit as he flipped through the data I collected, seeming impressed. “Ah, yes, it’s filling up well! Then again, you DO seem to have a certain... Je ne sais quoi,” he commented whilst handing the pokedex back to me. “You know, originally I was going to just pick only one child from a town to get their first pokemon. Originally, it was going to be the daughter of a veteran trainer I knew. Then I heard that the renowned Rhyhorn Racer Grace’s son had returned from his travels, so I thought, why not give him one too? Kalos is probably very different from what you’re used to, so I’m glad it’s all working out in the end!”

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable when he started to mention Grace. People actually thought I was Calem? And again, with thinking I was a kid. Surely it would be, I don’t know, right of me to correct the misunderstanding and just tell him everything? Grace’s real son, were he to come back, didn’t deserve to be met with a mess that I caused. I wasn’t supposed to be living his life. Like, sure, I always lusted for a better, more comfortable life, but not at the cost of stealing it from someone else. That was one thing I did have the morality not to take.

Unfortunately, before I could even open my mouth to say anything, a certain Shauna came skipping out of the elevator and jump-hugged me, causing the latter of the two - a.k.a me - to flop over rather ungracefully.

“Heichou! Professor! Hello~!” Shauna chirped after I had successfully pushed her off my person, scowling a bit as her friend tottered in after her.

To my surprise, it was Serena who extended a helping hand to me, her grey gaze mellow as she looked me over from head to toe. I was very much tempted to shrug her off. The past me would’ve done that. The past me would’ve probably spat at them and spewed all kinds of horrible things. But I kept my mouth shut and took her hand, letting her balance me out while I straightened out my jacket and bag. No, I wasn’t Calem. But currently, I wasn’t Levi either.

“Thanks,” I grunted to her, doing my best to actually sound grateful. She in turn flashed me a doubtful look, but gave an understanding nod anyway.

Now that we were all gathered again, the professor redirected our attention to him by lifting a pokeball into the air. “Ah, fantastique! Now that we’re all here, let’s all have a pokemon battle!” he declared, smiling wider when Shauna ran over to challenge Serena.

Puzzled, I could only stare when Professor Sycamore positioned himself in front of me, a knowing look to his eye. “Ah yes, your opponent shall be me if you don’t mind. But don’t worry! I’m not that tough,” he mused, somehow interpreting my confusion as hesitation. I maintained my scowl, moving my hand to select Annie. I wasn’t too sure what I was supposed to expect... Professors didn’t typically battle their pupils, did they?

Stepping back, he gave his pokeball a light toss, and out came a friendly-looking Bulbasaur. I swiftly sent out Annie, who let out a small cry and put her arms up for a good battle. Grass v.s fighting... Not exactly what I’d call favourable.

“Quick attack!” I ordered, my raised voice seeming to catch Sycamore a bit off guard. Yes, right, a normal ten-year old would not have a fully-matured, deep, and husky voice like mine. The others didn’t really seem to care that I was obviously not like them though. Either that, or they never noticed.

Annie shot forward, ramming herself into the Bulbasaur. The Bulbasaur hence tottered a bit, seeming startled by this sudden show of aggression. My guess was that the professor’s Pokemon were not used to the heat of battle.

“Leech seed!” the professor ordered, the interest in his gaze only seeming to increase as our battle wore on. Evidently, I wasn’t the inexperienced child he was expecting. Which was exactly what I was planning on telling him, until I got interrupted...

Anyway, as I often found leech seed just plain old annoying, I withdrew Annie and sent out Mikasa, who happily made her entrance in a floret of ember flames. She easily took the Bulbasaur’s incoming growl and dowsed it in flames, knocking it out rather quickly.

There was a little ping that emanated from my pokedex and I blinked, watching as a sharp glow began to envelope Mikasa’s being. The only times I’d seen evolution happen was during my travels with Ren, as Rapidash and Haunter had already evolved prior to me stealing them.

“Ohoho! What an unexpected turn of events!” the professor exclaimed as he watched my little Fennekin grow from a tiny fox-thing to a standing fox-thing with a stick sticking out of its tail. Even Shauna and Serena paused their battle to watch what was happening, their eyes round with interest.

“Congratulations Rivaille! Your Fennekin seems to have evolved into a Braixen!” both my Pokedex and the Professor seemed to be cheering as I observed Mikasa’s new form.

Sycamore’s next choice was a Squirtle, which caught me off guard at first. Those chubby cheeks... I wasn’t quite having a flashback like I did with Annie and Petra, but something was definitely ringing as familiar in the back of my head.

I returned Mikasa to her pokeball, about satisfied with her growth, and sent out Armin instead. Cute little Pika-Armin quickly took matters into his own hands (or is ‘paws’ a better way to put it?) and struck his opponent with a series of thundershocks. He then backed off to welcome a Charmander onto the field, with whom he brawled with a bit until I withdrew him before his HP could fall any further.

“My, aren’t you something?” the Professor praised when his Charmander was finished off with a hard peck on Hanji’s behalf. Returning his pokemon, he nodded once in Serena and Shauna’s direction, to which the victor of their battle was unsurprisingly the former. “You truly are something else. How about this: I noticed you had taken an interest in one of my pokemon during our battle. How about you take her with you, Rivaille? As for you Serena, you may have one as well if you wish.”

Returning Hanji to her pokeball, I blinked when he handed the Squirtle’s pokeball to me, taking it lightly with mild hesitation. He was just letting me have it? Like, sure, I suppose I earned it after that battle, but still. That made two freebies already.

“Are you going to give her a name?” he mused, recognising that I seemed to have named all my other pokemon.

Frowning, I gave the pokeball a hard stare, trying to put my finger on why she was so familiar. The Squirtle was female... S... “... Sasha, I guess,” I murmured, furrowing my brows. I couldn’t readily associate the name with a weird memory, but it seemed pretty fitting.

‘I’m hungry!’ The Squirtle seemed to be whining the whole time I was trying to think up a name for her. But like, come on. I wasn’t going to name her Hungry. That was stupid.

“Sasha,” Professor Sycamore echoed, seeming satisfied with my decision. Smiling again, he turned to watch as Tierno and Trevor finally joined us, each taking their turn at greeting the professor.

“It seems like we’re all here now!” Tierno commented, grinning in my general direction. Trevor had just kind of nodded at me, not seeming too fond of my, ah, darker nature. Not that I blamed him.

“Indeed! And that allows me to say one last thing...” Sycamore agreed, placing the remaining pokeballs on the desk behind him and striking a rather dramatic pose, “I want you all to be the very best trainers you can be! Have fun, explore the region, meet all kinds of new people and pokemon. But I also want you to figure out Kalos’s biggest mystery: the secret and potential of Mega Evolution. That’s why if you check your Sasha’s held item, Rivaille, you’ll notice she’s holding a megastone!”

Thanks to him, everyone was looking my way, looking curious as hell. So I let Sasha out and cradled her in the crook of my arm while I held out the strange stone for everyone to look at. It didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen before... hence why it was a mystery probably.

Trevor tilted his head to one side, seeming troubled. “Wait, but what about the pokedex then? Is our job not to fill up its pages completely?”

Sycamore turned to him, an amused look on his face. “Trevor, my lad, it all depends on what your definition of ‘best trainer’ is. If your ideal trainer is one who fills up the pokedex, then knock yourself out!” he reassured him, even adding in a wide grin to seal the deal.

So basically, this Professor was a total ditz and was relying on a bunch of kids to do his work for him. Lovely.

Shauna had a little sparkle in her eye as she observed the stone, only holding it in her hand for a few seconds before quickly returning it to mine. “Mega evolution sounds really interesting!” she gasped, already sounding giddy at the thought of going on a legit adventure.

“Your first stop should be Camphrier Town then. That town has a lot of history, so you might find more clues!” Professor Sycamore suggested, only broadening her exciting grinning. “But listen: if you visit many places, you’re bound to meet people and Pokemon with many different ways of thinking and many different ways of listening. First, try to accept any ideas that conflict with your own. Then, try to think about what is really important so you can truly broaden your horizons.”

There was a pause before Serena spoke up to say something that sounded pretty snotty, but I was too busy thinking to register her exact words. For a supposed ditz, those were surprisingly wise words of advice. What’s really important... Growing up in the Underground, the most important thing to me was survival. But now that survival was not too hard to come by... What was important? What were these memories that kept polluting my brain? Was I doing the right thing, pretending to be someone I wasn’t?

Something told me those questions would have to wait when I was finally dismissed and emerged onto the first floor, where I spotted Sina conversing with a weird man with... wicked orange facial hair. Like, serious, it was crazy, like a lion’s mane or some shit like that.

Oh brother.


	7. Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille gets a haircut and learns about this Lysandre dude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apparently need to be poked and prodded for updates sooooo yeah. Someone commented on here, I felt as though I had time to kill, so here's a really late update. Yay. WhenwillthegoodstuffstartIdon'tknow-  
> Lol this chapter is the one year anniversary go me it's only chapter 7 wooow

 “Oh, Rivaille, come here one sec!” Sina called, waving me over.

I probably looked really weird, cradling a Squirtle as she hungrily munched away at some pokefood. Apparently she was a heavy eater, hence her whining about being hungry earlier. Although, I still wasn’t sure how that correlated with the name ‘Sasha’ in my mind.

Setting her down on one of the couches, I walked over to meet the wild-haired guy, scowling a tad at how fuckin talk he was. Like, seriously. I doubted he was that much older than me, but he was like a friggin titan or something.

Aha, titans.

The man looked me over with a straight face, as if to judge my ability based upon my looks. “So, you must have a pokedex then...” he murmured, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly, “That’s wonderful. You must be one of the chosen ones then.”

He paused for a moment, though before I could stick in my two cents, he spoke again. “I am Lysandre. My dream is to create a more beautiful world... I have tried to learn as much as I can about Pokemon... Professor Sycamore has taught me much. Knowledge is power. Remember to put it to good use.”

I opened my mouth to speak again, but he was already on his way. What a weird guy.

“... I wonder what kind of a beautiful world Lysandre wants to create...” Sina murmured, looking thoughtful. Then, remembering that I was there, she turned and smiled at me, causing the awkward tension to dissipate.

Hearing the elevator click open behind us, I turned to watch as Shauna came running my way, her usual smile plastered across her face. “Hey Heichou!” she called, pausing a moment to giggle all cutesy-like, “We’re gonna go check out the city now, okay~?” Then, without even waiting for my answer, she half-darted, half-skipped out the door, already humming a light tune to herself.

Turning back the others, I noticed Serena flash me a hesitant look. I arched a brow her way, silently questioning her inaction. What, did she have a problem with me?

“... H-hey, um, there’s actually something I want to talk to you about. Can you meet me at Cafe Soleil? ... Try not to get lost,” she murmured after a while, stubbornly glancing down at her shoes as she spoke.

I noticed Trevor and Tierno exchange confused looks, but I did nothing to call out this sudden need to “talk”. I suppose if we were going to be stuck with each other for a while, that it would be best to kind of get to know them...

“... Sure, whatever,” I grunted, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

Serena nodded her head slowly. “I appreciate it...” she murmured before slipping past me for the exit. Tierno and Trevor soon followed, muttering something to each other as they passed.

My thoughts were quickly shifting to Sasha however, who was now struggling to climb over the top of the couch. Sheesh. She was probably going to be a handful in and of herself. So I waltzed over, scooped her up into my arms, and stepped back outside into the city.

I was instantly met with a fresh breeze carrying not the stench of rotten garbage, but of trees and relative cleanliness. If I wasn’t mistaken, Cafe Soleil and the next town were to my left...

So I set off, pausing in the Pokemon Center to get some supplies and rest up my pokemon. I then kept close to the right side of the road, avoiding eye contact with everyone I passed as much as possible. For a second, I felt a strange sense of self-consciousness, feeling as though everyone was watching me. Me, an outsider, a brute, a piece of uncivilized trash.

“Squirtle!” Sasha suddenly cried out, snapping me back to my senses. I paused, glancing to my right to see my reflection in the window of a fancy barber shop. I stared at myself for a bit, noting how sloppily I had attempted to stuff my hair under my hat. There were strands hanging about here and there... The least I could’ve done was tie it up, but somehow such an idea bothered me.

Sasha started waving her little arms, smiling widely at herself. One of the ladies inside the shop seemed to notice and waved back to my Squirtle, returning her smile. She seemed to mouth to me, “Do you want to come in?”, in which I merely continued to stare at myself.

The door clicked open with a light and airy chime. The woman stepped outside, holding the door back with one hand. “Good evening, Monsieur,” she greeted softly, her brown eyes warm and filled with nothing but compassion.

I forced myself to look away from the window, narrowing my eyes at her ever so slightly. Sasha let out a small squeak of a greeting, waving her arms even more now. A small giggle hence escaped the woman, and she walked over to lightly pat Sasha’s round head. I found myself flinch for some reason. What was going on? Why did I feel so... perplexed all of a sudden? It was just my reflection, dammit. What the hell was going on?

“... You seem a little troubled. How about you come inside for a bit?” the woman suggested, slowly withdrawing her hand. Her voice sounded even more delicate now, taking into account how hesitant I must’ve seemed, “I’d like to give your Pokemon a little treat. Is that okay? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I’m not a child,” I found myself hissing defensively, clenching my jaw. It was not my intention to snap at her so suddenly, especially after seeing how hard she was trying to make me feel comfortable.

However, she kept on smiling, raising her hand to adjust her neat bun. “That’s alright. You’re a new trainer, right? How about this: business has been kind of slow lately, so I can give you a little something for half price. You might disagree with me, but having a hair-style representative of you can really boost your self-esteem,” she offered.

Before I could say anything, Sasha uttered a happy cry and wriggled free of my hands. She fell to the ground lightly, waddling over to grin expectantly up at the woman. The woman in turn gestured for the two of us to follow her inside. I was reluctant, but as I didn’t really want to let Sasha go off on her own, I stepped inside after her, watching as the two of them moved behind the counter. There, the woman offered Sasha a large lollipop.

Sasha cheered loudly, accepting the lollipop and munching on it instantly. The woman giggled at her behavior, kneeling to rub her head again.

After some time of me awkwardly standing there all silent-like, she stood again and faced me, casting me a questioning look. “So, how may I help you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

I looked away, my eyes drifting to the chart on the wall. There were all kinds of different haircuts available... I never really cut my hair, so I didn’t really know which to go with. Her deal was pretty tempting though, so I eventually settled with, “Surprise me.”

Her smile broadened and she eagerly ushered me to a chair. I left my stuff by Sasha, who was happily sucking on her second lollipop.

“Alright then, just sit back and relax!” the woman chirped, taking out her scissors and getting to work. I just closed my eyes and let her do what she wanted, figuring that whatever she came up with would be alright with me. She seemed to know what she was doing, not that I was ever a really good judge of character...

A while passed and I felt the bulk on my head grow less and less. Alas, she did some final trims and handed me a mirror to check out her craftsmanship.

“Tadaa, all done! What do you think?” she sang. Her eyes were wide with anticipation, soaking in my reaction as I took in the strange face looking back at me.

He looked younger now, his bulk reduced to an undercut and bangs that were parted on the far right. It seemed to turn his dead look to one of a calculating warrior, his eyes carefully scanning the person before him for any obvious strengths and weaknesses.

At one point, this man had looked at himself in the mirror, touching the spots on his cheeks that had once been stained by blood. At one point, this man had to force a steeled expression, refusing to allow his comrades to see how much he hurt, how much he suffered. Apathy was his defense, apathy was his salvation from agony and sorrow. And after a while, apathy became his very being.

The woman carefully nestled my hat upon my head. Seeing the little green feather pin, I was able to break away from the vision of the broken man and see myself.

“Myself” looked startled. He stared ahead at himself with wonder, almost as though he hoped the answer to all his problems would appear on the soft paleness of his skin. This man, though still lonely and hurt, had not yet succumbed to the emptiness of apathy. He still had a chance. He still had his second chance.

I stood with a start, digging around in my pocket and handing her some money. She looked startled, opening her mouth to say something, but I was already motioning for Sasha to get ready, grabbing my things and making for the door. “Thanks,” I breathed before I exited, and with that I was back on the path, my head more raised. She was right; you really could feel more confident with the right haircut. I’d be sure to visit her again another time... To better relay my gratitude...

Exhausting a long sigh, I stopped when I could see the sign for Cafe Soleil. Serena was standing in front of the entrance, her arms crossed slightly as she watched people move about the city streets. When she finally noticed my presence, she had to turn and stare for a bit, most likely to register the fact that I had gotten a completely different look. She didn’t comment on it however, and simply gestured for me to follow her inside.

Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was that Orange Titan was there at the back. The second thing I noticed was the woman he was speaking to, who was dressed in quite the uh, outfit. Short shorts, fluffy wing-things, a flowy jacket-cape-thing... Very interesting.

“Oh, that’s Diantha and Lysandre, isn’t it...?” Serene murmured, looking momentarily confused. She glanced at me expectantly, almost as if she expected some sort of response from me. When she got none, she figured that I knew nothing about the region (which I really didn’t) and quickly added, “Lysandre is the head of Lysandre Labs... Big surprise, I know. They’re responsible for the creation of the Holo Caster. And Diantha... you probably know this but, she’s one of the most famous movie stars in the world... But why... are the two of them here...?”

... Movie star? No ma’am, I did not know that. Orre was pretty out of the way, apparently... But...

“... You played a young girl so wonderfully in your debut on the silver screen,” I caught Lysandre saying, “Wouldn’t you rather remain young and beautiful forever?”

I felt like reeling with Diantha. However, I held firm, as did she.

“... What a strange question...” she began carefully, looking and sounding rather hesitant, “Why... would I want to play the same old roles forever...? Youth may be beautiful, but it’s not all there is to life... Everything changes, and I... I want to live and change like that too...”

I picked up a twinge of irritation from Lysandre. It came in the form of a temporary flash of orange-red that surrounded his person for a second before dissipating. Based on my observations with others, not everyone saw things like I did. As weird as it sounded, I could always somehow... detect a person’s essence. It was weak and it often took some concentration to really see it clearly, but it was still there.

“You were chosen to be a movie star, correct?” Lysandre continued rather impatiently, “Isn’t it your duty to be beautiful? Everything beautiful should stay that way forever... If I could, I would make this world unchanging and eternal so all beauty will last forever... I can’t stand the thought of the world becoming uglier...”

He turned, narrowing his eyes at me. I was tense, internalizing how pissed off I was by his words. What fuckin right did he have to spout that kind of shit? “It’s your duty to be beautiful?” Bullshit! My approval ratings of the bastards were rapidly declining by the minute... And they weren’t even that high to begin with...

“... Oh, Rivaille... Hello...” Lysandre greeted me calmly despite his... angry words. He gestured toward Diantha, ignoring her offended expression. “This is Diantha, one of the most accomplished movie stars in Kalos... She moves the multitudes with her excellent acting... She dedicates herself to making other people happy, essentially. Oh, if only everyone could be like her...! What a beautiful world this would be...”

I found myself taking a threatening step forward, but much to my surprise, Serena’s hand shot out, seizing my wrist and holding me back. There was a flash of surprise on both Diantha and Lysandre’s faces, and they watched me carefully. I managed to bite my tongue and simply yanked myself free, glowering at the latter.

Despite my silence, Lysandre seemed to get the message and bowed his head slightly. “... I see. If you’d excuse me, then...” he muttered, brushing past me and leaving the cafe.

Cafe Soleil was eerily silent now, all eyes on me. They all watched me, questioning my obvious rage. I almost felt like kicking something. However, Grace had done well to insist that I not violate others' properties... Tsk, the damn goody two-shoes...

Diantha coughed lightly, signalling for everyone to return to whatever the hell it was they were doing. She approached up slowly, flashing me an inquisitive look before directing her attention to Serena. “... Hello. I’m... sorry you had to overhear that... Er... Who are you two, if I may ask?” Her voice was a little shaky, most likely from her confrontation with Lysandre, if confrontation is even the right word.

Serena gave a shy smile. “Oh, my name is Serena, and this is-” she began before Diantha interrupted her.

“Rivaille, right? That’s what Lysandre called you... You both have such lovely names. You’re both trainers, correct? I can tell your Pokemon are really happy to be with you. I can tell because I’m a trainer myself... Eheh... Maybe one day, we’ll be able to battle.”

I opened my mouth to say something, something about Lysandre and the shitty things he said to her. She dismissed herself with a smile, however, and quickly slipped past us to leave the cafe. Again, silence returned, though only until Serena reached out to give my jacket a slight tug.

“... Hey, um, Rivaille... The thing I wanted to ask was... would you be willing to compete with me to see which of us will become stronger? I know it probably sounds weird but... well, I won’t lose, so, I guess you don’t really have to agree to it,” she murmured, giving me a hard look.

I just stared back at her. A competition? What the heck, man? But it really didn’t seem like I could argue, so I just kind of nodded my head and backed out of the cafe.

Well, that was awfully eventful... Lysandre was turning out to be a total creep, Serena was apparently my rival now, and Diantha...

... Next stop was Camphrier Town, right?

...

Bring it.


	8. Aura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille learns some stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter and so soon of an update, whoa. If this keeps up I might actually be able to get to the stuff I planned like a year ago! Yaaaaaaayyy...

Upon exiting Lumiose City for Route 5, the first thing I noticed was not the breath-taking scenery, but a blue blur headed straight for me. Instinctively, I ducked back, shouting, “Sneasel!” all while bracing myself for a fight.

It took me a few seconds to register what was going on. Firstly, Sasha was staring up at me, most likely confused as to why I called her a Sneasel. Secondly, said Sneasel was no where to be seen. He was back at Grace’s house...

Thirdly, the blue blur had materialized as a larger, older version of a Riolu. It stared me down, analyzing my being and judging my strength from looks alone. It didn’t seem like it wanted to pick a fight. Yet again, I had let my age-old instincts take over.

“Lucariiooo! Wait uuuuppp!” Someone was calling, their voice growing increasingly louder from my left. I turned to look for the source of the voice in time to get barreled into.

Cursing loudly, I was thrown backward by the source of the voice’s momentum, and then squashed as she lost her balance and fell on top of me. The Lucario and Sasha let out concerned cries, running over to make sure we were okay.

“O-oof! S-sorry! I uh, haha, gained a little bit too much speed on that, oomph, decline!” A girl with long blonde hair stammered as she struggled to get off me. She was wearing rollerskates though, so her flailing only caused her to get up and flop over again. At least such gave me time to roll to the side, exhausting a long, stifled breath as I struggled to keep my cool. There was no point in screaming at her, I thought bitterly, as it truly seemed like a mistake anyone could’ve made.

“It’s fine,” I grunted in the end, getting up and brushing myself off. Tsk, there was dirt on my clothes now, but I supposed there was no point in fussing over it. As much as I hated the idea of looking dirty and unkempt again, journeys were not something that were meant to be clean. It was all part of the process...

Blowing a few strands of her hair out of her face, the girl grinned up at me, having given up on trying to stand up.  “S-sorry about that, really! You’re okay, right?" she asked. Another Lucario ran over to help her up, which she thanked with a smile.

I was silent for a few moments. "... Yeah, just peachy," I muttered, motioning for Sasha to come closer. This girl, there was something about her that seemed off. She seemed to radiate a bright, yellow shine that glinted off of her bright smile. It wasn’t angry-looking like Lysandre’s. It was.. stronger, more controlled.

“I was doing special training with my Lucario when all of a sudden he ran off,“ she continued, glancing sideways at the Lucario in question, “Hey Lucario! Seriously, what’s with you? Did you get drawn to this boy’s aura? Is that it?”

The Lucario blinked at her, looking a tad uncomfortable. He then shifted his gaze to me, his clear blue eyes seeming to know all.

Aura? What the hell was that? It sounded like some sort of mystical shit. But somehow, Lucario’s staring answered Korrina’s question, and now she too was looking my way.

“Huh, interesting. Could it be that you’re...?” she began before cutting herself off. “No, never mind. He can probably sense that you’re pretty strong. He’s been looking for someone strong enough to challenge him...” Shaking her head furiously, she leaned forward to hold her hand out, a slight frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Oh sheesh, sorry, I was on such a roll, I totally forgot to introduce myself! The name’s Korrina. I’m the Gym Leader of Shalour City! If you’re really as strong as Lucario says... that means we’ll be battling one day. I look forward to it! But for now, I gotta be off so... See ya!”

I only had time to shake her hand and nod my head slightly before she was off again, zipping off with her two Lucarios running after her. I could only really stare, wondering what the hell just happened. Could it be that I was what? A freak? Did something about my “aura” have any relation to my weird flashbacks?

Curious, I removed Annie’s pokeball from my belt and let her out. She looked confused at first, gazing around herself for her enemy. When she found none, she tilted her head up at me, murmuring an impatient, “What? What do you want me to do?”

I decided to be straightforward about it. “You’re the pre-evolution of Lucario, right...? Can you... see ‘auras’ too?” I questioned her, narrowing my eyes slightly when all she did was continue to stare.

_“... Auras?”_ her voice was dull, like she really didn’t want to talk about it, _“... Yes, I see them. It’s a specialty of my kind... For example, your aura is a very intense black. I was drawn to it upon our first meet because of how strong it was... That Lucario was probably the same...”_

Black...? Was what I was seeing earlier called aura? Lysandre and Korrina’s colours had been bright, warm colours. So what... did that say about me...?

Annie tilted her head to one side, detecting my hesitance. _“You see them too, don’t you? That's probably why you can understand us... That’s very, very rare in humans. Black suggests a dark, painful past. You are heavily burdened, and cope by lashing out and acting coldly toward others...”_ She shook her head slowly, almost like she was disappointed.

_“Hey, wait!”_ Sasha interrupted, waddling over to give Annie a stern look, _“I don’t know what all this aura stuff means, but Mr. Rivaille is good at heart! He’s not black in the slightest!”_

There was a twinge of irritation that flashed in Annie’s eyes. Spinning around, she gave Sasha a hard stare, causing her to back away fearfully. _“Butt off, ignorant Squirtle. I wasn’t saying anything about his heart. I was talking about his life energy. His is a unique case... If he learned to harness his powers, he could change the world. He’s that strong,”_ the Riolu snapped. Her paws flashed blue for a moment, and Sasha made sure to keep her mouth shut in case she were to be attacked.

“Hold up,” I finally spoke, stepping in between the two of them and flashing Annie a hesitant glare. No, hesitant wasn’t the right word. Anxious was more like it. “The fuck are you saying? Auras? Powers? None of this makes any sense! Are you saying I can see this stuff because of my weird dreams?”

_“Yes.”_ Annie’s response was plain and simple, and was enough to shut me up as well. We all fell silent, letting the carefree breeze of Route 5 blow by like nothing crazy was happening. The world was shitty that way. People could be dying outside of the walls, and yet still, time kept flowing, the world kept moving, and the struggle kept happening...

Sasha frowned at me and hopped over to hug my leg reassuringly. _“Don’t worry, Mr. Rivaille! I like you! You’re strong and brave and nice in your own way! Don’t let those scary dreams or scary Annie get to you. Let’s just keep going, okay? Things will make sense with time! Just believe!”_

I met her yellow gaze, and for a second, I wanted to believe her words. I wanted to believe in the crazy red-haired potato-eating girl with wicked hunting roots. I wanted to believe in her and her misfit gang of rookies. I wanted to believe that they were just as good, if not better than my old squad. I wanted to believe that all my effort would pay off in the end.

Annie let out a huff of irritation. She turned away from us, stalking into the grass and striking at the first wild Pokemon that crossed her path. I crouched to pick up Sasha into my arms, holding her for a few moments before I tossed out my other Pokemon.

“... Here’s some training time. Meet back here by sunset,” I instructed them, adjusting my hat so that it covered my eyes.

They all stared at me, bewildered, but I let Sasha down and stalked off, needing some time to clear my head. It was... a lot to take in. If I assumed for a moment that the memories I had were real, then that meant this was my “second chance”. Some part of me was pissed, for I’d like to think my idea of a second chance would be to have been born as an average joe who would go about his life as another insignificant number. However, it seemed the creators were cruel and thought it wise to reincarnate me with similar circumstances as my old life.

But... why? What wish could that other me have had for me to end up like this? Was it that he had all the pieces he needed to accomplish his dream, but at the last moment he was shot down? Was it that his power allowed him to free humanity, but he had to give up his own in order to do so? Why give me power again if that was so?

I suddenly felt very, very lonely. Though my Pokemon were named after faces in my past life, none of them seemed to remember the old days. There was Isabelle but... was that even real? Had I just been delusional? That was possible. I felt like I was gradually going insane.

By sunset, I returned to the entrance of Route 5. My Pokemon were all there, waiting, their forms battered and bruised, but their expressions cheerful and welcoming. Two of them looked different, actually. Mikasa and Hanji seemed to have evolved... That was good. They were working hard... 

_“Welcome back, Heichou!”_ Hanji chirped, fluttering over to land on my head. She was much heavier now, and I had to grunt slightly to get her off.

Sasha and Armin ran over to hug my legs again, Petra floated over to rest on my shoulder, and Annie and Mikasa  just gave me curt nods. How strange it was for me to have Annie, now that I thought about it. She had been the enemy. But I supposed in this world, there was no such thing as evil. At least, not yet...

“... Great job everyone,” I murmured to them in a quiet voice, squatting to rub Sasha and Armin’s heads, “... Let’s get you all fixed up.”

After a quick stop by the Pokemon Center, we continued to explore Route 5. There were these weird ramps for people to practice roller skate tricks and the such. Like my 3DGM days, I navigated these effortlessly, and managed to pick up a few... useful items. As I had roots as a thief, I had very little remorse about keeping things I found, unless of course someone were to fun over and scream at me about it.

I found Trevor and Tierno chatting at some point about Pokemon hordes. Apparently, sometimes if you got lucky, a freakin army of pokemon would attack you at once. Luckily, they were all pretty low leveled, which was probably why they stuck together in the first place.

Anyway, the two of them tried challenging me to a battle, but I beat them easily. ‘Seemed my Pokemon trained themselves well. That was good. It’d be annoying if I had to order them around all the time. Pokemon, like people, had the cognizance to decide for themselves. I’d only give them support and strategic orders from the rear. Otherwise, they were on their own.

Tierno and Trevor accepted their losses light-heartedly. Rather, their battle with me seemed to inspire the former to continue to find cool moves for both himself and his Pokemon, while the latter decided he’d try to perfect his Pokedex so that he could “be serious” about something too. He even gave me some honey in case I wanted to fight some more hordes, but I had a feeling Sasha would eat it up the moment I looked away.

I said my thank yous and goodbyes to them and continued on my way. Though I had initially been annoyed by their presences, I was beginning to get used to them all. They were all kids. Err, kid-er than me, anyway. Serena was probably the oldest, being probably 16 or 17. Then again, what did it matter? I had no interest in doing anything remotely close to pedophillic.

Upon entering Camphrier Town, I was met with a wave of nostalgia. It was an old fashioned kind of town, with an old castle-mansion thing and everything. The ground was made of stone and dirt, rather than fancy street stuff. It was nice.

Sadly, I was interrupted by a loud ping! from my bag. Scowling, I extracted my Holo Caster, half-wondering if it was Lysandre. I sure hoped not. That guy really pissed me off.

“Thank you for using the Holo Caster,” a robotic voice stated. All I could see was a blue avatar smiling creepily at me. Dear Arceus, it was unnerving to look at. At least Ren’s digital companion, a Porygon 2 if I remembered correctly, was a lot more innocent-looking.

“Lysandre Labs developed the Holo Caster to make the lives of Pokemon Trainers richer, fuller, and more convenient. We hope you continue to enjoy the fine services this device provides.” And with that, it flickered away, leaving me to stare blankly ahead at nothing.

Well, that was a waste of time.

I stopped by the Pokemon Center for the night. It and some of the signs were the only modern things in the town, which I found mildly amusing. They looked so out of place.

I had a dreamless night. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it, but the uninterrupted, full-night of rest was welcomed regardless.

Right away in the morning, I started wandering around the city. Shabboneau Castle was my last stop, and boy, did those old scents comfort me. I felt like I was back at home... Like, my old, old home. Former life home. Not that that place was very comforting. It was always very dark and gloomy... Just another feature of the job, I suppose.

Shauna was there already, much to my surprise. She was talking with some guy inside, but startled when she noticed I had entered. “... Oh, Hi Heichou!” she greeted, blinking at me a few times before breaking out into a wide grin.

The guy she was talking to stared at me incredulously. “TWO visitors to Shabboneau Castle?! I can’t remember the last time we were so busy!” he exclaimed, looking as though he could cry.

Oh bother.

“Hey, Shauna,” I greeted casually. It was Hanji’s turn to be out of the pokeball, and boy, was she excited to have some freedom. She was singing and fluttering and everything all morning...

But anyway, she waved her wing at Shauna, who looked startled for a moment before she waved back. I figured she didn’t expect any of my pokemon to like, have personalities.

We gave the over-emotional guide person some time to calm down. When he did, he explained to us that the castle used to belong to some noble. The noble family that used to own the place gave all their stuff away for some reason, and that was why it was so empty. The end.

“Whaaat?” Shauna exclaimed after his short story, reeling, “That’s it? Nothing about Mega Evolutions? Nothing??”

The guy stared at her, puzzled. “Well, uh, yeah. That’s all. Er, what is this Mega Evolution you speak of?” he began. He stopped when someone suddenly ran in, panting heavily.

“S-sir!” the new guy cried, “It’s back again!”

“Is it that time of year already?” the guide guy groaned, looking bothered, “But it’s not like I can do anything about it.”

“At least come look!” the new guy whined, straightening.

Sighing, the guide guy nodded his agreement. “Alright,” he murmured, looking at us, “Well, you two can keep looking around. I have to go to Route 7. Enjoy...?”

And with that, he was off.

Shauna tugged at my sleeve. She seemed excited. “Hey, Heichou! I want to see what’s going on. Let’s go to Route 7 too!” she suggested.

I kind of grunted something and she took it as an agreement and dragged me off. I’d much rather check out the castle more but...

Eh, whatever. I’d deal with it. What was the worst that could happen?

A Snorlax, apparently. Lying there on the bridge, snoozing away. The two guys were just staring at it hopelessly.

“Heichou, what IS that?” Shauna exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. I’d never had any experience with Snorlaxs myself, so I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer her. All I knew was that normal types were a pain to take down in battle, and considering that this one was freakin huge...

“I swear, not even the end of the world could wake this thing!” the guide guy exasperated, shaking his head slowly.

The other guy poked at it a few times with a stick, looking concerned. “Well, can’t we just use the Pokeflute? ... Unless you got rid of it,” he murmured.

The guide guy flushed, guilt scrawled all over his face. “Uh, the owner of the palace MAY have persuaded me into lending it to him...” he confessed, twiddling his thumbs.

While the other guy exhausted a pained groan, Shauna stepped forward to get a better look at the Pokemon. “What’s the Pokeflute?” she asked them in her light tone, blinking up at them with her round eyes.

“It’s what we need to wake up this thing,” the other guy told her, looking at us expectantly.

“Oh!” Shauna piped, looking excited again, “That’s not to bad! So if we get it, everything will be okay, right? C’mon Heichou, let’s go get it~!”

I opened my mouth to object, but she was already dragging me off toward Route 6. I had a feeling some of her enthusiasm was due to the fact that we might be able to learn more about our “mission” in the meantime.

Sigh. At least the path was nice. There were a few tourists that challenged us, mistaking us for a love-struck couple that were going to visit the palace for reasons. Though Shauna would just blush, I didn’t bother reacting. Me and Shauna, a thing? I was willing to tolerate her as a friend since she seemed pretty nice but like, that was it. Besides, the age gap between us had to be at least 10 years.

We arrived at Parfum Palace, our jaws practically unhinged from our faces. The place was huge and shiny and practically reeked of fuckin rich people. It got even better when the man up front prevented us from stepping through the golden front gates.

“Ah, the entrance fee will be 1000P per person,” the man stated blatantly.

“Whaaaaaat?!” Shauna exclaimed, almost falling backward in her surprise, “You gotta be kidding me! We have to PAY to get inside??”

I had to swallow down a chuckle of amusement. Cute little Shauna was pissed, and I somehow found that more cute than her usual self. I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m fucked up in the head though, so.

The gentleman cleared his throat, seeming unphased by her reaction. He must’ve gotten it like, all the time. “The owner of the palace follows the school of thought that you can never have too much money, you see...”  he sighed.

Fuming, Shauna dug through her pockets for her wallet, fishing out the desired cash and practically throwing it at him. “Ugh, this is how the rich get richer! But whatever! Here’s your 1000P!”

The man then looked at me, half-expecting me to react similarly. I just handed the cash over to him, not seeing a point in harassing him. The one who deserved to get yelled at was the owner of the palace...

He accepted the cash gratefully and gave a small bow. “Thank you, sir and madam. The funds will go towards maintaining and restoring the palace... probably...” he murmured before opening the gates and letting us inside.

Shauna darted inside without me, leaving me to marvel at the now-open golden gates. As much as I hated rich people, I couldn’t deny that this fancy-ass shit was actually pretty nice...

Bleh.


	9. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille spends some valuable time with Shauna

Stepping through the grand front doors of Parfum Palace, I noticed two things: one was the extravagant Milotic statue most likely carved from pure gold (or at least covered in pure gold) towards the back and the second was a guy pacing to and fro, muttering to himself about how he lost something.

I walked over to observe the Bisharp statues that lined the sides of the room, for that guy’s worrying was of no concern to me. Yet.

“Hey, Heichou!” Shauna ran over to stand in front of me, looking desperate, “That poor man over there lost his Furfrou! We should go help him!”

“What?” I choked out, accidentally letting my true, sassy, don’t-give-a-shit self shine through.

Shauna puffed out her cheeks. “You heard me! That poor little Furfrou must be so scared all by himself! We have to find him and bring him back to his loving owner! We have to!” she insisted.

I exhausted a long groan. I really didn’t want to have to put up with this. I was a thug and a trainer, not some stupid errand boy or whatever. I didn’t need this.

But Shauna had to give me the puppy dog eyes. “Heichou, pleeeeaaaasee? If not for them, do it for me~! I know if one of my Pokemon went missing, I’d be really sad!”

I was really tempted to shoot her down. That would’ve been a bit cruel, though. Ugh. I hated being soft.

“... Fine,” I grumbled, moving away from the statues to proceed further into the palace. Shauna let out a victorious hum and followed me quietly, taking in the sights as we walked. The palace really was disgustingly beautiful. Wherever they could put gold detail, they put it. The walls, the pillars, the floors, the ceilings, the doors, the furniture, the decorations- everything was in pristine condition.

Fuckin hell I was impressed and the fact that I was impressed just ticked me off.

I only allowed myself the pleasure of exploring the first floor before exiting the palace for the gardens. Naturally, the outside was just as amazing as the inside. Friggin’ statues and a pond-lake-thing and fountains and fancy-ass bridges and shit. It probably did take 1000P a person to maintain its glory.

Shauna’s eyes widened when she saw the garden. “Oh, oh, I’ll go check the back first! You check the front!” she piped, dashing off before I could even give my approval.

I just sighed and began to wander the hedge mazes. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for, actually. I assumed it was some sort of dog.

“Hey, Hanji. You know what a Furfrou is?” I muttered as I exited one hedge maze for another.

Hanji twitched, having been dozing off on my shoulder. Shaking her head, she took for the skies, scanning the area for the Pokemon in question. I knew she had located her target when a small puff of fire appeared over the northwestern hedge maze. It wasn’t exactly the most discreet way to find something, but it was better than nothing.  

I made it just in time to see Shauna chasing after a fluffy, white dog. “Please, wait, don’t go!” she cried, skidding to a halt to catch her breath. When she saw me approach, she practically latched onto my shoulders, determination bright in her eyes. “You've gotta give me a hand here, Heichou! There’s a dead end up ahead, so we've gotta lead it there and corner it! Okay?”

Turning my head to look at where the Furfrou had gone, I nodded my understanding, already trying to plan out a strategy. First, I needed to see how it moved...

“Stay here,” I grunted, running off to chase the dog. With Shauna at the entrance, it couldn’t just circle its way around the hedges. That would force it to move farther back...

The Furfrou startled when it saw me coming at it and ran the other way, just as I predicted it would. That made my life a bit easier... The only thing I needed to do now was...

“Hanji!” I called. With a screech, the Fletchinder shot down, cutting off the dog's last escape route and forcing it to run straight into the dead end.

Narrowing my eyes, I blocked off the path, and watched as the Furfrou uttered a small whimper of disappointment. Hmm, that was a bit too easy. Oh well.

“Hurray, we did it~!” Shauna cheered, bouncing over to join me. Filled with elation, she even paused to give Hanji a big hug, to which the latter made no move to protest. She was wise not to try that on me, though.

“Heichou, you’re absolutely amazing!” she went with instead, grinning wide, “You have such a close understanding of Pokemon! That’s probably why you’re so good at this stuff~ Which is suuuuuper cool!”

I must’ve looked embarrassed, because she started giggling. It was then that the Furfrou’s owner caught up, practically throwing himself at his beloved dog with tear-filled eyes. “Oh, my dear and beloved Furfrou! How I missed you sooo!” he sobbed into its fur,

The Furfrou gave a small bark that I interpreted as something rather... foul. But as the owner of said Furfrou may one day read this autobiography, I think I’ll take the liberty of not translating it for you...

The owner turned to us once he calmed down, sniffling heavily. “Could it be that you two are responsible for my reunion with my beloved Furfrou?” he gasped, looking ready to hug us too.

While Shauna laughed nervously, I took several steps back, flashing the man a warning glance. He didn’t seem to question it, for he was too lost in the moment to care about my coldness. “How wonderful! This is marvelous, ever so marvelous! A situation like this deserves fireworks! Yes, yes, I will put on a marvelous show in commemoration of the return of my wonderful Furfrou!”

Creep.

Spinning around, he waltzed off, his Furfrou reluctantly following. Shauna cast it a pitying glance, looking conflicted. “Maybe it would’ve been best if we hadn’t found it...” she murmured with a frown, “But I... I really want to see those fireworks...”

She gazed up at me, a strange twinkle in her eyes. “... Meet you at the balcony, okay~?” she sang before darting off, leaving Hanji and I alone.

We took our time heading back, taking in whatever sights we may have missed on the way. The second floor of the palace, though no less extravagant than the first floor at first, narrowed into quite the surprise: a hallway lined by mirrors that shone with the light of day trickling in from the balcony windows.

As I paused to peer into one of the mirrors, Hanji started making weird faces at herself, tilting her head this way and that. It wasn’t even one of those distorted mirrors, yet she was still laughing at herself like the simple bird-brain she was.

“‘Ey, quit that,” I grunted after she whacked me in the face with her wing a few times. I gave her head a light push and she just let out a disappointed huff before she flew off to get a better view of the show.

“I wonder how we’re gonna see them, with the sun out and all...” I muttered to myself as I strolled up beside my pig-tailed companion, arching a brow when she didn’t give me an immediate response. The Furfrou guy was nowhere to be seen, so the two of us were awkwardly alone.

I waited a few moments, but she still didn’t say anything. She was just staring down at her feet, her hands nervously knitted in front of her. Which was strange, since she was usually very bubbly and whatnot around me. Why was she acting so reserved and shy and such all of a sudden? Heck, why did I even care?

I looked up at the sky, watching some clouds drift by. My mind momentarily drifted to the question of where Hanji went, but then I reckoned I probably should say something and cleared my throat.

“... You know, uh...” I started rather pathetically, trailing off as I fought for something appropriate to say, “That was some... good work you did before...?”

I really sucked at complimenting people. Heck, I still suck at complimenting people. But that’s not the point.

Shauna finally looked up, giving me an almost pleading look. She let her hands fall to her sides and she took in a soft breath.

It was then that the fireworks started.

It was... pretty breathtaking, actually. I heard fireworks were really amazing at night, but as this was the first time I was seeing them up close and personal, even the daytime was fine. The way the colours stood out against the garden and the pleasant sky, the way the sparks sparkled in the sunlight...

“... You know, this is... the first time I’ve watched fireworks alone with a boy...”

It took me a bit to decipher her suddenly-quiet voice through the echoes of the fireworks.

I turned my head, flashing her an inquisitive look. “Well, this is the first time I’ve watched fireworks period,” I replied with a slight frown.

She blushed brightly at that. Was I missing something here? Was there some sort of specialness to watching fireworks with someone? I was tempted to ask, but something told me that wasn’t very appropriate.

Shauna took in another breath and turned to face me, determination bright in her eyes. Her face, though usually darker in tone, was flushed a bright pink, like medium-rare steak.

... That was a terrible simile, wasn’t it?

“H-Heichou, u-um, no, u-um... Rivaille... I...” she stammered, struggling to get her tongue to say the words she was rehearsing over and over in her head only moments before.

I tilted my head to one side, waiting for her to say whatever it is she wanted to say. The fireworks were reaching their finale, throwing up whatever colours they had left to fill the sky with as many pokemon-shaped explosions as they could.

She swallowed hard, waiting for a break in the noisiness beside us. “I... I really like you...!”

I could feel myself droop. My eyes closed and a sigh escaped me. I should’ve expected this. I should’ve seen this coming. But of course, I lacked the knowledge and the experience. Love and all that kind of stuff was a mystery to me. The only time I ever really felt for someone was...

“... Shauna...” I had to cut myself off. My thoughts were swirling, buzzing, flying here and there. I couldn’t concentrate. I didn’t know what to say. It was usually in my nature to just tell people to their faces what I thought of them. It was in my nature to say “sorry, I’m not interested because insert criticisms here.” But Shauna was different. I did like her. I did care about her. Unfortunately, not the way she did me.

But she didn’t need me to tell her that. She could already tell from my face and my tone. Forcing a smile, she spun around to watch the last of the fireworks, doing her best not to shake. “... These fireworks will... always be the best in my memory. Because I... Because I watched them with you, Rivaille. So... thank you for... giving me that...”

I bowed my head, feeling a slight pang in my gut. Guilt, was it? Sorrow? I couldn’t really tell. But I did know I felt bad. I was tricking these kids into thinking I was their friend. Or was I really? That too, I did not know. It was all so very confusing. I needed to sort out my thoughts... and fast...

The owner joined us at the balcony once the show had finished. Neither of us said anything.

“And that was my wonderful show for my beloved Furfrou!” the owner cheered pridefully, clapping his hands together. He moved toward us, smiling brightly. “I assume you’re satisfied with that?”

I glanced at Shauna, whose forehead was creased in thought. Then her eyes widened, for she had remembered our original reason for going there. “OH!” she exclaimed, jumping slightly, “I can’t believe I forgot! The Poke Flute! Do you have it?”

A flash of disappointment crossed the owner’s gaze and he sighed deeply. “Oh, the flute...” he deadpanned. He turned to his butler, waving him off, “Go get it, why don’t you?”

Then, back to us he said, “It was Shabboneau Castle’s treasure, but I took it as payment for a loan. A rich guy like me and a commoner like him just don’t get along very well... But alas.”

The butler returned, holding out a delicately wrapped box most likely containing the flute. Shauna motioned for me to take it, which I did.

“Now then,” the owner continued as the butler backed away. His arms were crossed, suggesting that he actually had the capacity to be serious when the situation called for it, “Always return what you borrow. That’s very important!”

And with that he strut away, leaving me to scowl and Shauna to shake her head in disapproval.

“You know, Heichou,” she murmured to me as we were escorted out.

“Hmm?”

“I want to make a lot of good memories on this journey. But him... I can forget about him.”

I don’t know what came over me, but I found myself laugh. She seemed a bit startled by this too, seeing a stoic guy like me crack up at something so simple. But it was so... I don’t know, maybe it was one of those “in the moment” things.

I managed to quiet down once we reached the exit. Shauna spun around to face the butler, remembering something else of importance to our mission. “Oh, Mister, one last thing! Do you know anything about Mega Evolution?” she inquired, blinking at him.

The butler pondered that for a moment before nodding his head. “Yes, I do remember reading about it in the palace library. Something about a trainer holding a mysterious stone high and making Pokemon evolve further. That’s all, unfortunately...” he replied.

Shauna seemed to make a mental note of this. She then grinned brightly at him, giving him a bow of appreciation. “Thanks so much for everything! We’ll be back with the flute once we’re done with it! C’mon, Heichou! Let’s go wake up that Snorlax!”

I nodded my agreement, adjusting my bag and pelting after her. I somehow managed to match her pace easily, as excitable as it was. So there we were, running through the trees and fields side by side...

Isabelle. Isabelle was my past pigtailed companion. She too was pretty cheery and whatever. She used to call me Big Bro. She was pretty tough and brave and strong and such, even up until she...

I grimaced, forcing myself to drop that train of thought. I didn’t need to relive those moments. I didn’t need to see those faces, not anymore, not now. The only face of hers I needed to remember was her cheerful, carefree one. Not the others. Not... the others...

“Oh, it’s you two. Did you manage to borrow the flute?” the guy from Shabboneau Castle greeted us once we arrived.

Shauna grinned wide, nodding her head quickly. “Yup! It’s right here!” she pipped, slipping the flute out of my bag and handing it to him.

The guy took it carefully, removing the flute from the box with some grace and testing his fingers on the holes. “Okay, good. The Snorlax will be a bit grumpy when it wakes though, so I hope you’re ready to stop it,” he stated, looking to me now.

I let my hand drift to a Pokeball and nodded my understanding. Actually, I thought to myself, instead of fighting it off, why don’t I do the town a favour and take care of it for good...?

The guy started playing. The tune was simple and kinda nice sounding, but apparently to the Snorlax, it was the worst alarm clock ever. It sat up with an angry cry, flailing its arms a bit before catching sight of me and rolling forward.

Shauna scampered away with a terrified squeak. I stood my ground and sent out Annie, who bravely darted forward and met the Snorlax’s attack with a hard punch. She was blown back a bit, but the move was enough to throw the opposing Pokemon off balance.

The Snorlax cried out irritably as it rolled into a tree. It teetered to its feet, fighting for balance. Fortunately, it was still drowsy from its nap, so Annie took advantage of it and darted in to land a few more blows. I glanced to my Pokedex to check on the healths of both Pokemon, yelling at Annie to stop once the Snorlax was well into the red zone. Fishing about in my bag, I pulled out a spare Pokeball and threw it.

The Snorlax looked dumbfounded when it was hit in the head with a ball and sucked inside. The Pokeball then shook for a while as it fought with the beast inside it, but after some time, it went still.

“... You did it~!” Shauna cheered, skipping over to hug me from the back. I stumbled a bit, trying not to fall flat on my face. Meanwhile, Annie was reaching out to grab the Pokeball when it suddenly disappeared with a flash, leaving her startled. Right, there was something about how trainers could only have six Pokemon on them at a time. That was why I caught it; the Snorlax was better off napping in the PC system then blocking off a road.

“You caught the Snorlax!” the other guy gasped, shocked by my display of skill. Or rather, by Annie’s.

I glanced down at where the Pokeball had been moments before, giving a small shrug. “Yeah,” I grunted in time to notice someone approach us from behind.

It was the palace owner. He looked at the Shabboneau Castle guy like he was being forced to admit he was wrong about something.

“You know, all I can do with the Poke Flute is put it on display...” he murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly when the guy gave a startle, “But you... you’ve been playing it since you were little. The tune is lovely. It sounded better way back when because you’re out of practice so...” He took a breath, looking a bit pained, “I’ll let you take care of that flute, so be sure to practice it more...”

And with that, he was off again.

The Shabboneau castle dude and other guy exchanged confused glances. They shrugged together, said their final words of appreciation to us, and walked off, leaving Shauna and I alone together once again.

“Was THAT his way of trying to patch things up?” Shauna grumbled, shaking her head slowly. She then flashed me her usual cheery smile, always quick to move on unlike me. “Well, anyway, all’s well that ends well~! I wonder what lies past where Snorlax was sleeping. You go ahead, okay? I need to get something back at the Pokemon Center!”

She was about to run off when I found myself grab her wrist, stopping her. “... I had fun today. Take care, alright?” I said, not emoting when another blush coloured her cheeks.

“Y-yeah, of course!” she piped, nodding her head in her usual determined manner. I let her go and she ran off, waving behind her at me for a bit before she disappeared over the ridge.

I sighed. I knew she would be safe, wherever it was she went. My past self was just too used to losing people left and right...

... Not that I was... necessarily... my past self... or... was I...?

I shook my head furiously, readjusted my hat, and started walking. There was a daycare to my right but I ignored it. I could handle my own Pokemon.

Up ahead, however, was another castle. I paused to glance at the sign. “Battle Chateau” was its name, apparently. I considered going inside but held back, for I really wasn’t up to socializing at the moment. I needed... to find somewhere to sort out my thoughts. Somewhere, anywhere.

Unfortunately, a certain someone was waiting for me at the end of Route 7. I couldn’t help but scowl, and she gave me an inquisitive look back.

“Hello, Heichou,” Serena greeted softly. She was giving off a bit of a haughty air... or perhaps that was just my ill mood misinterpreting her natural body language.

“Serena...” I grunted back, not sounding too pleased to see her. She got that and raised one of her Pokeballs.

“Trevor, Tierno, what do you say about a tag team battle?” she then called, looking past me. Confused, I glanced behind me to see the two boys walk over to us, determined looks own shining in their eyes.

“Yeah, sure, I don’t mind. I want to see what kinds of moves you can come up with!” Tierno replied, beaming at her.

“I’m assuming you want to team up with Heichou?” Trevor added, arching a brow.

Serena gave him a stern look, but nodded. “That’s the plan. Unless of course, you don’t want to...” she murmured, looking to me.

I just didn’t want to battle. Heck, I wanted them to go the hell away.

My hands clenched at my sides as I fought for self-control. It was just a friendly battle. After this, I could hole myself up in a cave or something and recharge that way.

“... Fine.”

I backed up, noting how excited everyone else looked. Tierno and Trevor sent out a Corphish and a Pikachu. Serena went with a Fletching. Everyone’s eyes were on me expectantly.

I exhaled softly and sent out Petra. Thanks to my method of training, it was fine that I was in a complete daze the whole duration of the battle. I vaguely caught Petra and Serena’s Fletching coordinate their attacks, taking down Corphish first, for it was the main threat. Once that was out, Pikachu was taken out, finishing the battle. The difference in strength between Petra and the other three Pokemon, however, was obvious.

“Wow Heichou, that was amazing! You didn’t even have to say anything.” Trevor’s words snapped me out of my trance, and I lowered my head slightly, as if I were embarrassed. He looked thoughtful, examining his Pokedex. “I guess you really can’t just learn everything from this...”

“You two have INCREDIBLE moves like, did you see how you two fought? You were like, dancing and it was BEAUTIFUL!” Tierno raved, practically throwing himself at Petra and Fletching.

Petra laughed nervously while the Fletching just tilted its head to one side, wondering why Tierno was so passionate about its performance.

“I must admit, the two of you do synchronize quite well,” Trevor added with a nod, glancing up at Serena and I.

Serena took a step back, seeming alarmed by this comment. I just shrugged it off.

“I-I...” Serena began before she cut herself off in an attempt to keep her cool, “E-er, right, well... it’s always interesting to see how different trainers fight. We should, er, head to Ambrette Town now, right? Yes, let’s go!”

She was the first to hurry off. Tierno and Trevor kind of looked at me questioningly, but I just shrugged at them again. If it turned out she like, felt for me to, there was nothing I could do. The four of them were straddling the line of pest and tolerable in my mind. I had warmed up to Shauna over the course of the day, yes, but in no way did that mean I would treat her specially. Or at least, I didn’t think I’d do that. It wasn’t in my nature. Was it?

I thanked Tierno and Trevor briefly for the battle before heading off for the Connecting Cave. In short, the first entrance lead to a dead end, but the other certainly didn’t. Instead, I was greeted by Sina and Dexio, who updated my Pokedex because apparently Kalos was too big to have all of it preset at once? Ren probably would’ve laughed at it. Then again, he was a genius. They probably weren’t.

I mostly sat on a rock and watched my Pokemon train. At points I’d give them pointers or stand to catch some Pokemon for the hell of it, but otherwise, nothing really eventful happened. I caught a Bagon and named it Erwin. It made me chuckle, but I wasn’t too sure why. He kind of reminded me of Grace’s husband.

It was well into the night when I called everyone back to rest. Despite my lazing around, the cloud that was my thoughts had not cleared one bit. As I feared, it was one of those blocks that needed to be cleared by speaking with another. The only problem was, Grace wasn’t around. Ren wasn’t either. I had no one I could trust. Sure, I liked Shauna now, but not enough that I’d taint her with the darkness of my mind. She was much too pure. She wouldn’t be able to handle it. She liked me probably because she thought my mysterious nature was charming. But if she actually found out why I was so secretive and dark...

I rolled over. I only started drifting off when the first rays of sunlight started to creep over the mountains...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goddammit why is ORAS so amazing *sobs softly* It's giving me an excuse not to be productive.  
> I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHEN MY HEAVILY ANTICIPATED CAMEO WILL HAPPEN SCREAMS


	10. Rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille gets some sleep and beats some people up.

I was rudely awakened by someone poking me in the cheek with a stick.

“Wakey, wakey, sleepy head,” a female’s voice was murmuring.

I let out a low groan. “Nooo...” I whined into the ground, curling up slightly.

The girl sighed, standing to poke me from another angle. I tried to swat her away, but she was smart.

“Come on Heichou, it’s almost noon. Everyone else is waiting. Surely you didn’t stay up all night training? Your Pokemon look exhausted.”

Oh, it was Serena. I tried to pull my hat over my face, but considering the awkward position I was in, it just resulted in me bumping my hand against the ground.

“‘S none of your business. Go away.” I was too tired to really snap at her, which was probably why she wasn’t taking me very seriously.

“Come on now tough guy, rise and shine!” Serena grunted, grabbing my arms and forcibly hauling me into a sitting position.

Rubbing at my eyes, I just glowered at her as she returned my Pokemon to their balls and gathered my things for me. My, someone was being awfully patient and generous today. Not that I’d comment on it. It wasn’t my business what she chose to do with her time...

“You look filthy. Ugh, promise me you’ll clean up at the Pokemon Center...” she grumbled, handing me my bag and stepping back to wait for me to fully wake up.

Filthy, huh? I would’ve laughed like a madman had I not learnt some self-restraint over the past few days. I was the very embodiment of filthiness. Not that she’d know.

I took some liberties, but eventually I was up and ready, following her sluggishly down the path toward Ambrette Town. “In order to get to Cyllage Town, we have to go through the aquarium,” Serena was explaining, easily making her way around the terrain. Under normal circumstances, I would've had no problem getting around, but I was a bit drunk on lack of sleep, so.

“First, I think we should stop by the Fossil Lab and have them tell us about Fossils. They might know some things about Mega Evolution. But if you want to explore the town a bit more, that’s fine. I can meet you there.”

She paused outside of the Pokemon Center, crossing her arms as she looked over my miserable condition. I had to squint a bit to keep myself focused, but nodded my head so that she’d at least leave me alone. Fossil Lab. Right. I could read and speak words. Even if I was in a shitty mindset, I could probably get there.

“... Yeah... Meet you later... n’ such...”

Serena sighed, but there was nothing more she could do. Babying me, she realized, was probably not a good idea. So she left me to the care of the Pokemon Center staff, who cleaned me up and healed my Pokemon. They let me nap a bit too, which was nice. Beds were a whole hell nicer than solid rock.

After a small meal, I was sane enough to go to the meeting spot. She was a bit late, probably because I made her wait so long, but eventually Serena was back by my side.

“You look better,” she commented as we approached one of the scientists. I just shrugged.

The scientists turned, brightening at the sight of youngsters in their lab.  “Welcome, future archeologists! Were you drawn here by the mystique of fossils? Of course you were! How may we help you?” the guy with the nerdy glasses greeted, setting aside his clipboard and flashing us friendly smiles.

Serena glanced at me for a second, almost worriedly. “Hello. My name is Serena, and this is Rivaille. We’re researching Mega Evolution and we were wondering if you knew anything about it,’ she replied calmly.

“Oho, so you’re Professor Sycamore’s students!” the scientist exclaimed gleefully, “I’ve heard about you, yes! Sadly though, all I know about Mega Evolution is that it has something to do with mysterious stones. However! I do know lots about fossils! Do you?”

Serena shook her head slowly and looked to me. Again, all I did was shrug.

“Oh, well, they are the remnants of prehistoric pokemon. You know, you two should head down to the dig site and see them firsthand! It’d be a great learning experience!” the scientist continued.

“But... if you don’t know anything about Mega Evolution, we really should get going,” Serena tried to object, taking a step back. The scientist was apparently too desperate for our interest to really care though.

“But wait! The assistant in Glittering Cave might know! Why don’t you ask him? I promise you it won’t be a waste of time!” he insisted, flailing his arms a bit.

Serena seemed ready to object again when I cut in. “Fine. We’ll go to this cave and see your fossils. What do we get in return?” I questioned him. For once I didn’t sound like I hated everyone, which was probably thanks to the fact that I actually got some sleep.

The scientist shrugged. “Life experience?” he offered, giving a small frown. I decided to just go with it and motioned for Serena to follow me outside.

“You’re not seriously going, are you?” she murmured with a frown.

I, you guessed it, shrugged. “The guy said the dude in Glittering Cave might know a thing or two about Mega Evolution. It’s worth a shot, I guess. I mean, if you wanna stay back here and ask around, that’s totally cool with me. You don’t need to babysit me...” I explained, crossing my arms.

Though she sighed, Serena nodded her head to my reasoning and adjusted the strap of her bag. “Alright, I guess I’ll do just that. I’ll ask around to see if anyone else knows anything while you investigate Glittering Cave. Be... careful though, okay? I get that you’re strong but... don’t push it.” With that, she turned and left for the nearest home, leaving me free to do whatever the hell I wanted again.

Hooray.

Upon entering the gate that lead to Route 9, I learned that, in order to get to Glittering Cave, I needed to ride a Rhyhorn over some rocks. Had Grace not been my caretaker for a year, I probably would’ve been weirded out by the notion. But nope, Rhyhorn riding was apparently a sport in Kalos. And so I approached the Rhyhorn hesitantly, debating how to go about the whole thing. Did I just... climb on? No asking for permission or feeding it or anything?

The Rhyhorn noticed my hesitancy and turned its head to blink at me. It seemed contented, like whether or not I decided to ride it would change its good day.

“... Er... hi...” I breathed as I dragged myself over its side.

All I got was a small huff. It waited until I was situated before it started walking, its heavy actions jerking my as I struggled to get used to its movements. It was nothing like riding a horse, for those that were curious. I could kind of see why Rhyhorn riding was such a big deal. It treaded over the jagged rocks like it was nothing, and was fast enough about it to keep me from nodding off again.

Though we got attacked by some pissed off Pokemon and bored tourists, the ride was mostly smooth, and surprisingly quick. Upon dismantling, I muttered a quick thanks and slipped it an oran berry, which I reckoned Grace’s Rhyhorn was a huge fan of. The Rhyhorn accepted its tip happily, nuzzling my side affectionately and watching me with round eyes as I made my way towards the Glittering Cave’s entrance.

How do I describe it... Though it was pitch black inside, the glowing blue plants and crystals on the side made it quite... breathtaking? The air wasn’t really musty either. It was very... crisp. I felt almost... empowered there. Like a strange energy was filling me or something. Annie would tell me it was because the cave had a high concentration of aura in it later on. Neato.

So yeah, mostly pleasant cave journey. At the end, I was greeted by... quite the unsightly fellow. Some guy with a wicked orange hairdo and dressed in an equally bright orange blazer and pants. The orange was reminiscent of Lysandre’s mane, actually. Or perhaps that was just the lighting. Eh.

The guy turned, adjusting his shades all cool-like. “Well, well, well. What do we have here? A nosy little trainer has come poking around,” he sneered, straightening his back to make himself seem taller than me. Which he was by at least two inches, which kind of pissed me off.

How to piss off Heichou in five easy steps:

Step one - Point out how short he is.

“Listen up kid!” the guy continued thrusting his hand out to point down at me, “We’re the fashionable team whose very name makes people tremble in fear: Team Flare!”

Step two - Use unnecessary theatrics around him.

“Team Flare’s goal is to make it so we’re the only ones who are happy!”

Step three - Introduce yourself as an asshole. That’s his job.

“We don’t care one bit about what happens to other Trainers or Pokemon.”

Step four - Don’t stop talking even when it’s very clear that you should.

”So get out of here, kid. Don’t you know not to play with fire?”

Step five - ... You’re probably dead by now.

Seizing him by the tie, I threw him to the ground, where I then proceeded to stomp on his shoulder rather aggressively. “How about you listen to me, you little shit. I’m no kid. I don’t give a shit who or what the fuck you are. I don’t care what the fuck you plan to do. But you don’t mess with me, you hear?!” I growled, giving him a hard shove.

He yelped, cursing and muttering as he scrambled out of my reach. His shades were cracked and his blazer covered in dirt. “H-how dare you ruin my uniform!” he shrieked, fumbling for a pokeball, “P-prepare to be obliterated! Get him Houndour!”

I just glowered at him, ticked off that he was angrier about me ruining his style than the fact that I literally just beat him up. When the Houndoor appeared, I decided to go all out and sent out Sasha, who seemed quite pleased to be let out.

The Houndour charged forward, aiming to tackle her. Sasha withdrew into her shell, letting it hit her back. Like a pinball, she bounced back against the cave wall, using the momentum to knock it out.

“Gah!” the guy cried, scrambling to his feet, “H-how dare you! First my clothes, now this?!”

Sasha slid, skidding to a halt in front of him and dousing him with a water gun. With another cry, the guy just gave up and ran off, not bothering anymore.

“... Great job, Sasha,” I breathed, kneeling to rub her smooth head. The Squirtle just beamed up at me, not seeming to have any qualms over the fact that we just abused some man. That was good. She would’ve fit in well with my old crew.

But unfortunately, that guy wasn’t the only Team Flare grunt around. There were others. I didn’t quite beat them up like the first, but Sasha did enjoy bouncing off cave walls to knock out her foes. She got a little dizzy toward the end, but it was effective and she had fun in the process so I saw no reason in telling her to hold back.

Now the funny thing is, just when I finished cleaning everything up, Serena came running over, looking worried.

“Oh my gosh, Heichou! Are you alright?” she questioned me after she paused to catch her breath.

I glanced down at Sasha and shrugged. We both looked fine, of course. “Yeah. You’re a little late though, I guess,” I murmured, gesturing to the two Team Flare brats that were now scrambling away from us.

Serena stared after them, looking startled. “You... took care of them all by yourself?” she breathed in disbelief. Did she doubt me that much? Ouch.

“Nah, Sasha did. Look how grown up she is; she wasn’t always a big and strong Wartortle,” I replied, tossing said water pokemon a berry.

Sasha caught it easily, letting out a happy cry as she gobbled it up. Actually, by then all my pokemon had evolved to their second stages. I never really made a big deal out of it though, since all it meant was that their training and their strength was genuine and paying off. So, apologies if I fail to mention all that.

All my blonde companion could do was sigh. “Let’s find the assistant...”

Sure enough, the man was all the way at the end, completely oblivious to the situation just around the corner. “Why hello there!” he greeted, putting on a goofy grin, “Are you two here to look for Fossils too?”

“Are you okay? Did Team Flare come here?” Serena questioned him, stepping forward to check him for injuries.

The man reeled, not quite understanding. “Teemphlair? Is that some kind of food?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. But when Serena just shook her head, he remembered something and spun around to pick up the two chunks of rock he was staring intently at earlier. “Oh, say! I found two fossils here, but I already have one of each at the lab. So! D’you want one? I’ll give you each one! We’ve a Jaw Fossil and a Sail Fossil!”

He held the two fossils out in front of us. Since Serena looked hesitant, I reached out to take the Jaw Fossil, frowning at how heavy it was. This was... or rather, used to be a Pokemon...?

“If you bring those to me back at the Lab, I can restore them into their former forms! Otherwise, I hope you two have a good rest of your days!” the man chirped. Then, with a wave, he was off.

I glanced at Serena, who was staring down at her Sail Fossil curiously. Since it seemed our job was done there, I offered her an escape rope, which she took gratefully.

Once back in Ambrette Town, the two of us parted ways again. Serena wanted to start training for the next gym in Cyllage Town, while I planned to get my fossil restored. I kinda really wanted to see what a fossil Pokemon was like... Something told me Ren would’ve wanted to see that, anyway.

So yeah, went back to the Lab, had that done, and voila! I had a Tyrunt. But as my party was still full, I put it in my PC for the time being. As for its name... Well, a certain armoured Titan came to mind, so Reiner became a thing. He was kind of adorable though, contrary to the son of a gun back in my former life.

I retired for the night afterward, deciding to be kind to myself for once and get a full night’s sleep. I had a nasty dream about the stuff that went on around Wall Rose... That woke me with a start. Apparently Hanji had snuck out of her Pokeball in the middle of the night, however, and she got me to calm down with ease. “It’ll be okay!” she sang, hugging my face with her feathers as she rested my head back on my pillow, “Tomorrow, everything will make sense!”

I wanted to believe her, but I couldn’t really. Nothing made sense. Sure, Glittering Cave helped to re-energize me, but I was still confused and still very much upset about... well, everything. Still, I decided to just accept her words and drifted back to sleep. My second time around, I didn’t see anything. I just caught the faintest whiff of freshly-brewed coffee...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna try to post a chapter once a week. Aha, let's see how that goes.  
> HOWEVER.  
> PUMPED FOR NEXT CHAPTER YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW AHHHHH


	11. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille finds the help he needed in a totally not coffee shop AU type way

Route 8 was nothing special. Just beaches and a whole hell amount of sand. It wasn’t fun, having to pause every so often to dump bucketfuls out of my shoes. My Pokemon seemed to be enjoying themselves though. Perhaps it was because I was too used to sand. Orre was just heat and sand. Nothing special there.

When I got to Cyllage Town, I couldn’t help but notice how... uh... sporty it was. Like, the paths were bike paths. There were bikers everywhere. Heck, there was even a bike shop. Something told me I’d have to stop by there later.

But the thing was, I wasn’t really paying attention to anything again. My Pokemon did their training by themselves, I ignored everyone I passed, and I didn’t really stop to enjoy the scenery and whatnot. As I’ve made very clear, I was tired. I was mentally, emotionally, and somewhat physically drained. I felt disconnected from everything, not because I wasn’t making an effort to socialize or whatever, but because I legit just couldn’t connect with anyone. I felt numb.

I actually stumbled into someone by accident. Mistaking me for an overworked athlete, they redirected me to a cafe. “It’s a little late into the day, but I’m sure you’ll find something in there to refresh you,” the person said as they ushered me inside. I kind of muttered my thanks, but I didn’t think they heard me. Damn. Why was everyone in this damn region so nice?

I took a seat at the cafe counter, noting the fragrant scents of coffee beans and tea. It vaguely reminded me of the previous night... I literally dreamt nothing but scents after Hanji helped me calm down. And those scents... were very much like these.

“Ah, Bonjour Monsieur. What can I get you?” A tall barista with long blond hair greeted me, flicking some of his bangs out of his eyes. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, black slacks, and a black apron, just like any other barista I guess. But the primary reason why I bothered to note this was the familiarity of it all. His moustache, his size, the way he spoke, the way his eyes scanned me and his nose twitched... Why did I...?

“... Hmm, I see. Never mind, allow me to put this one on the house,” the man murmured after I failed to answer him. I opened my mouth to object, but no words left my mouth. All I could do was stare.

I watched as he selected a clean tea cup and filled it with a variety of tea leaves. I found this strange, as usually cafes served coffee. That was kind of where the name came from. But alas, after he let the leaves steep for a bit and placed a small mint leave on top, the cup was put in front of me to drink.

“Go on, try it,” the man told me after I stared at it for a long several seconds. The scent... was the same as back then. Whenever I was particularly stressed, Petra would go out of her way to prepare for me a special cup of tea. The others treasured coffee, but she knew I was a stickler for good tea. But how did this man know what to make and how to make it? Surely this wasn’t coincidence?

I swallowed, and carefully brought the cup to my lips. Though the scent was the same, the taste was absolutely scrumptious. I blinked. “This... How did you...”

“Hmm, well, even if I never made it for you personally back then, after I learned the scents, I figured out how to recreate it. You know, just in case I needed to give you a pick me up. Like now, for instance,” the man began, clearing his throat slightly.

I raised my head, scanning him once again. At last, my eyes made out the neat name tag pinned to his shirt. Mike.

Mike. Mike Zacharias. Humanity’s probably-Strongest before Erwin dragged me into the Corps. A man with a hypersensitive nose, a man renowned for his skill by Erwin, a man who perished protecting his squad. Mike fuckin’ Zacharias.

Mike smiled wide when he saw the gears begin to turn in my head. “It’s been a while, Levi. Sorry I had to leave you guys so suddenly. I had to do what I had to do, right? Even so, it’s nice to see you again.”

I stood up with a start, nearly knocking over what was left of my tea. “You,” I choked out, unable to cease my staring. Mike continued to smile his goofy smile, patient as ever. “You. What the fuck are you doing here?”

He laughed. “I could ask you the same. A man like you should be out there living life, not dragging yourself around like a living corpse. Surely, things have been easier this time around? Or no?”

I stared down at my feet, biting at my lower lip. That’s what I wanted to think. A second chance was typically nicer, right? I mean, sure, there were no titans or whatever. But I didn’t feel any happier. “... What about you then? You figured being a barista was your true calling?” I reflected the question, not wanting to answer it myself just yet.

Mike frowned at my attitude, most likely because he was disappointed. Bah, maybe I was doomed to be an ill-tempered brat. Mike seemed the same in terms of personality and presence...

“Well, you could say that. I started out as a trainer just like any other kid in this region. I made it all the way to the Pokemon League, actually. But you know, right when I got to those doors, I just stopped. I don’t know why I did. I was probably strong enough to make it all the way to the Champion but... well, maybe I just figured being a Trainer wasn’t that great after all and came here to work at the cafe. Its really nice here, actually. I get to meet all kinds of people and brighten their days with warm beverages. ‘Makes me wonder if I would’ve been equally as happy after facing the Elite Four...”

“... The Elite Four?” I questioned, not yet acquainted with how everything worked. As far as I was aware, Trainers won eight badges and then... stuff happened. Although, to hear Mike actually backed out of something was pretty surprising. Did he experience a similar crisis as me? Was that even a possibility?

Mike nodded his head slowly, taking my cup to refill it with fresh tea leaves and hot water. “The goal of every trainer is to become League Champion. After you win all eight badges, you challenge four of the strongest trainers in the region, and then the Champion. If you beat the Champion, you become the new Champion. It’s a common dream amongst youngsters to shoot for the top. But I guess it just wasn’t for me. I, like you, didn’t have anyone to journey with, so it was pretty lonely and unfulfilling. I guess I didn’t see much of a point behind going further.”

He then set my cup back down, casting me a quizzical look. “You... are alone, right? Or have you found the others?”

I shook my head slowly, gratefully taking the tea and taking a few sips. “I... not exactly. I've been traveling with a bunch of random kids. I also have these weird visions whenever I encounter certain Pokemon, so I’ve been naming them after our old comrades. Like Hanji, for example. They don’t seem to have the same memories, though...” I explained, setting the cup down to get said bird out.

Hanji let out a happy trill when she was let out, fluttering over to sit on Mike’s head. Mike laughed heartily at her energy, reaching up to lightly tousle her feathers.

“Ah, I see. Yes, this one really does resemble ol’ Hanji, doesn’t she? That’s a bit of a shame though, that you haven’t seen anyone else. I know Erwin stopped by once. He had some memories, but they seemed kind of fragmented.  A bit like you, I assume. Um, Nanaba and Connie also passed through a while ago, but they didn’t seem to recognize me at all. It was a little painful but, I just kind of let it go. We were given this second chance for a reason. I’m just wondering why I seem to be the only one with all their memories...”

“I wish I could tell you,” I sighed, shaking my head slowly, “Who knows, maybe it’s your job to help me get over this slump...” I rubbed at my forehead, feeling a slight headache come on. Of course I didn’t actually mean it. Just knowing that I wasn’t the only one having crazy flashbacks of a past life was nice enough. It was also nice to know that my vague suspicion that Grace’s husband used to be my asshole-ish commander was probably right.

I felt Mike put his hand on my shoulder in a reassuring kind of way. “Well, I’m here now, and that’s all I care about. What’s been bothering you, Levi? Honestly, I was pretty shocked to see not only you stepping through that door, but a pretty... sad-looking you,” he murmured. He rounded the counter and sat next to me, personalizing our little man-to-man talk.

I sighed deeply and shook my head slowly again. “I don’t fuckin’ know anymore, Mike. Everything’s just so fuckin confusing. First I was a thug on the streets of some desert region, living off whatever I could steal and the such. Then some nerd picked me up and had me get rid of some baddies and whatever. Then he tried to drag me off on some adventure overseas but I fucked up and ended up here all lost and confused again. Then some lady found me and took me in. Then some kids dragged me on some stupid Pokemon journey and now I’m here. I don’t know who I fuckin am anymore. Am I Levi, am I Rivaille, am I neither? What am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to be? I don’t fuckin know and it’s stressing me the fuck out...”

There was a brief moment of silence before I found Mike drawing me into a large embrace. I tensed at first, not quite used to being touched and the such. But after a few awkward moments, I forced myself to relax. It was kind of nice...

“... It doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out. It’ll come to you one day and you’ll just look at yourself in the mirror and think ‘why the fuck was that a problem.’ Honestly, you’re a tough guy. Things will work out in the end. Have some hope, why don’t you?” he murmured close to my ear. I found myself shiver, mostly because damn, I was starting to feel vulnerable now. Vulnerable and I don’t mix well. And to prove that, it wasn’t long until I was a disgusting ball of tears and distress. My intention was to find a good, empty cave to scream in and the such, not some old doofus to cry into.

Bah, but it worked. By the end of it, I felt calmer. Things made more sense. I felt in control of myself again. I apologized for soaking Mike’s apron, and all he did was laugh it off and insist that everything was fine and that I just needed to worry about myself. Which was strange considering that that was a major source of stress for me only moments before...

Regardless, I thanked him for the tea, tipped him generously, and headed back into town. There, I wandered around a bit. I got myself a bike, trained some, bought some supplies. At nightfall, I treated myself to a night in the hotel where I had access to running water and a soft bed.

The next day, I stopped by the cafe again. Mike wasn’t on shift at that time, so I quickly backed out and made my way toward the gym. Based on what I had gathered, the gym was rock-based. And hell, when I entered that building and saw that rock climbing wall, I knew I was in for quite the ride. 3DMGs were one thing. Actually having to climb things was another.

It was a bit of a struggle at first. Since it was my Pokemon and not me that was training all that time, I could hardly bring myself to get past the first platform. So when I decided to call it quits and returned to my hotel room, I got to work working out. I biked the trail, did some lifts and the such. My Pokemon seemed intrigued by the fact that humans could train as well. Sasha even asked if I was going to evolve soon. I told her that if I did, it would be mostly symbolic. She didn’t get it.

After about a week of that nonsense, I tackled the gym again. Unlike my first pathetic attempt, the second time around was much easier. My Pokemon and I tackled every obstacle with equal force. It was then that I learned that, to be a decent Trainer, you needed to be in sync with your Pokemon in more ways than one. Not only did they need to be strong, but you did too, in every aspect.

At last, I reached the top. As I don’t really feel like getting into the details of our battle, basically Grant was impressed by how much I had changed in the week, I beat him, and I skedaddled out of there with a new badge.

I stopped by the cafe afterward. Throughout the week, regardless of when I went, Mike wasn’t there. I tried asking his coworkers, but they just shrugged and said he wasn’t in anymore. Not in anymore? That didn’t make any sense.

But alas, on that day, he was there. He was dressed in cargo pants and a jacket, with a backpack lazily slung over one of his shoulders. When he saw me, he grinned, moving from his seat by the window to greet me.

“Congratulations on your win, Heichou,” he greeted lightly, smirking when I arched my brow at his change in attire.

“Mike, what are you up to?” I cut straight to the chase, not quite understanding. Was he, like, planning on...?

“Oh, well, I just figured you needed some company. ‘Must be tiring, hanging around kids all day. Don’t worry, I won’t stalk you everywhere. Think of me more like... an overseer. Y’know, just to make sure you don’t dig another hole for yourself,” he replied casually, beaming when all I did was scowl.

“I don’t need you to babysit me,” I scoffed.

He just laughed again. “I know. I’m gonna anyway,” he mused, patting me on the head and leading the way out of Cyllage Town.

I sighed and followed him out, a small smile somehow finding its way onto my lips. Well, if it was that doofus, then I had nothing to worry about...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this chapter done like a week early but lIKE MIKE IS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER OKAY I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY I AM I FUCKIN LOVE MIKE MIKE IS MY BABY LEVI'S JUST LIKE MY PARTNER IN CRIME AND SOUL ANIMAL AND SUCH BUT MIKE IS THE SHIT.  
> MIKE BABE.  
> YEAH.


	12. Moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caves are fun

Mike wanted to re-start his journey, so I decided to lend him Mikasa. She seemed hesitant at first, for Mike was a lot more... Gentle in his training methods. After a few battles in the field, however, she quickly adapted to his style and followed his instructions willingly.

I hence substituted Reiner in for her, for I really wanted to see what a prehistoric Pokemon was like. Unfortunately, the Tyrunt was a baby, so it was very difficult to discipline it. There were multiple occasions when I'd mutter curses and insults at it for its stubbornness, which would often result in a wailing dino. Concerned for the mental health of my Pokemon, Mike relieved me of its caretaking, insisting that he'd return it once it was more mature.

The peace didn't stay for long. When we returned to the field the next day, we were startled to find Team Flare grunts prowling the area. I quickly filled Mike in on what I knew, taking care to leave out the fact that I abused one of them. I felt too embarrassed to admit it, for he seemed so much more relaxed and open than his past self. I, however, only seemed to have toned down my obsession with cleanliness. Ugh.

The first grunt recognised me instantly, and quickly fled before I could give him another beating. The others, however, were determined to get revenge. With Mike by my side, we pummeled them easily, and watched as they all withdrew into Geosenge.

While we wandered Geosenge in search of the Flare pests, Mike starting going on and on about the history behind the rocks. Apparently they never withered, giving the place a sense of eternity. I was only half-listening, and he knew that, so he fell silent after a while and helped me look.

They were no where to be found.

Frustrated, I slumped myself down on one of the smaller rocks, breathing out a long sigh. “Damn rats. Guess we have no choice but to move on...”

Mike sat down besides me, cracking open a soda bottle. He handed me one as well. Though I wasn’t really a fan of the stuff, I took it anyway and downed it in no time. Apparently, I was so focused on my search that I didn’t realize how parched I was...

“You know, you don’t have to fight them. You can... just continue with your journey,” Mike pointed out.

“Yeah,” was my only response. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was so set on chasing them down. Probably because they were irritating as fuck? Or maybe it was something else...

Either way, we started walking again. Route 11 had strange crystals popping up here and there. Mike said it was because the Reflection Cave was up ahead. I assumed that meant the cave was very... reflect-y.

I wasn’t wrong.

It was actually kind of cool aside from the fact that I got to look at my own face one too many times. I looked as miserable as I felt. Great.

I heard something beep in my pocket, and reluctantly pulled out my Holo-thing to find Sycamore grinning at me.

“Ah, hello there, Rivaille! I see you’re almost at Shalour City; that’s great news!”

I just kind of nodded.

Sycamore blinked a few times, noticing Mike hovering in the background. “Dear me, is that Mike back there? Hello Mike! It’s been a while!”

Mike gave me a weird look before he gave the professor a half-hearted wave. “Yeah it’s... me. I bumped into this guy here and felt like heading out into the field again,” he greeted gruffly.

Sycamore’s grin widened. “That’s great news! I’m glad to see you’re meeting all different kinds of trainers, Rivaille. Which brings me to why I contacted you, actually. There is a man in Shalour I would like you to meet. People call him the Mega Evolution Guru. I’m sure he can tell you all he knows about Mega Evolution.”

Oh, right, that was one of our objectives, wasn’t it? I hated talking to people, though...

“Only me?” I questioned.

Sycamore shook his head. “I told the others already as well. It’s technically optional but... still, I feel like you could benefit from having a nice talk with him.”

I sighed, making my aggravation known. “Fine,” I grumbled, clicking the communication thing off and stuffing it back into my pocket.

“I think you should go, to be honest,” Mike murmured, lightly touching my shoulder, “You might learn some stuff about yourself there.”

“Like what?” I snapped, heading deeper into the cave.

He said nothing, letting me run ahead.

There was a lady in the middle of the cave who set up a little tent for passing trainers to rest. After a lot of frustration-induced training, I ended up making use of her services. It was cold and damp in the cave, but I’d slept in worse conditions.

I bumped into Tierno at some point. He decided to share the TM Flash with me. Apparently it was good for keeping Pokemon away.

"I wish I was as tough as you, Heichou," Tierno sighed after I pocketed his gift, "My Pokemon aren't strong enough to take on a lot of these places..."

I gazed at him for a few moments, a bit put off by this sudden display of negativity. I was strong because I worked at it. Right? I didn't want to call him a slacker. But I didn't want to call myself lucky either.

I did something I wouldn't normally do.

"... Come with me."

Tierno jolted upright. "Wh-what?"

"I said follow me," I repeated, biting my tongue to keep from blurting out profanities. He was a kid, after all.

I guided him towards the entrance of the cave. There was a certain energy to the cave that let me easily keep track of where I was going and where I've been. Was that aura? Either way, it was handy.

A Wobbuffet blocked our way. "Wooobbuffet!" It cried, saluting us.

"Hand me one of your pokemon," I ordered Tierno, holding out my hand.

He stared at it, hesitating. Then he handed me one, his Corphish.

"You're a dancer, right?" I questioned, sending out the Corphish. A quick glance at my pokedex confirmed its moveset: swords dance, bubblebeam, vice grip, and night slash. It was a good moveset, actually. I could work with this.

"Good trainers play on their strengths. Observe. Corphish, swords dance!"

Corphish jolted, looking unsure. Tierno nodded at it, reassuring it that it was okay for it to take my orders.

The pokemon skittered about, slashing the air.

The Wobbuffet flopped forward, releasing a psychic pulse.

"Bubblebeam the ground, then spin!"

Nodding, Corphish propelled itself off the ground, missing the attack. A little spin send a wave of bubbles at the Wobbuffet, which struck it right in the face.

"Whoa! Those moves!" Tierno exclaimed, clearly impressed by my display.

Corphish landed on the ground, waiting. "Don't stop moving," I instructed, and it started Swords Dancing again, "When you find an opening, Night Slash!"

Corphish fluidly skittered around, landing two or three strikes. Alas, the Wobbuffet used a last resort Destiny Bond. I wasn't sure how to break out of that one, so I just had Corphish end it and revived it afterward.

"That was... incredible!" Tierno gasped, running over to envelope his Corphish in a big bear hug, "I didn't know you had that kind of strength in you!"

I faced him, frowning at his words. "Strength is subjective," I corrected him, "All Pokemon are strong. You just have to know how to bring that out. You and your Pokemon are dancers. Don't battle head on. That's why you're struggling. Fight like how you dance."

I paused, glancing down at my bag, "... A Pokemon is only as strong as its trainer. Don't forget that."

I left him without another word, making my way back towards the exit.

I'm not usually generous. But something about how he was putting himself down like that pissed me off.

I wasn't really surprised to find Mike waiting for me at the exit.

"Hey," he greeted, tossing me a pokeball.

I caught it. It was Reiner. I flashed him a quizzical look.

"I trained it like I said I would. Now then, shall we get going?"

I rolled Reiner's pokeball over in my hand. He certainly felt tougher. I'd need to see it for myself first, though. "You go on ahead. I want to train more."

Mike frowned, but he didn't bother arguing. He just nodded and left.

When I first sent out the Tyrunt, it was hesitant, expecting me to yell at it again. I didn't. I gave it orders at first to test its strength, then tried letting it act on its own. It wasn't quick enough to, both in terms of speed and intelligence. That was fine. I realized in my display to Tierno that I was expecting too much of my pokemon. They had strengths and weaknesses of their own that I needed to accomodate...

I exited the Reflection Cave late. Mike had set up camp and was already asleep. I jist kind of set up near him and curled up to sleep. To my surprise, Reiner popped out of his pokeball to curl up next to me.

I turned, lightly patting its beak. "You did good today," I muttered.

"Rrrr" he purred, nuzzling my hand.

Tsk. So much for a prehistoric menace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my brother bought Pokemon X and beat it in like three days and I was just like  
> I should probably work on my fic again.  
> So this happened.  
> And uh, yeah.  
> Aha.


	13. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rivaille experiences angst because why not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon if there has been a change in tone. I haven't updated in forever and forgot everything lmao  
> BUT A WILD UPDATE APPEARED WHOOAAAA???  
> WHOOOAAAA  
> SO I MIGHT UPDATE THIS MORE???  
> I just really want an excuse to write Rivaille and Ren.  
> So, yeah.

I felt strangely refreshed that morning. 

Mike said he needed to go do something, which was weird, but I let him run off, leaving me to explore Shalour on my own. It was... nice, I guess. There were... plants. And houses. And people.

Oh look, a giant tower. I wonder where my next destination was?

As I descended the stairs from the grassy part of Shalour to the more sandy part (where the hell did all this water come from??), I heard someone call my name. 

“Heichou, there you are!” Tierno huffed as he hurried to catch up to me, “Check out what I got!”

I paused, frowning as I glanced him over. He didn’t look too different from when I last saw him. More relaxed? Eh.

“Tadaa! Lookit this cool stone! I got it from some collector after showing off my dance moves!”

I tilted my head ever so slightly, and bit back the urge to say “Yeah, so?”

He seemed to squirm at my silence, glancing around a bit before he held the stone out to me. “U-um, I want you to have it. A-as thanks for before. And, well, you’re such an amazing trainer and all so... if it turns out to be a Mega Stone, I’m sure you’ll make better use of it than me.”

That caught me off guard. “No, keep it,” I said almost immediately, perhaps a little too sternly, “I helped you out because I wanted to. Don’t feel like you owe me anything.” I looked ahead of us at the tower. “Besides, you’re not a bad trainer yourself.”

My words seemed to have thrown Tierno into a fluster. Ah. This is why I hated being pleasant. 

“... S-still! I-I... I just...”

I looked back at him, taking the stone gingerly. It looked like a plain old shiny rock to me. “... Alright, I’ll take good care of it. Thanks.” My insides churned as that last word left my mouth. Maybe I was being too pleasant too fast...?

But Tierno looked thrilled, grinning at me happily. “Great! Wanna meet the Guru-guy together?” he asked.

_ “Let’s go together.” _

My gaze faltered. So, I was making new friends, friends other than Ren. Ren... that bastard...

“Yeah.” I started walking again before Tierno could catch my change in mood. 

Friends...

In my last life, I have a feeling I had a couple of those. But each one was taken away from me one by one, taking a part of me with them, until I felt nothing but bitterness, hollowness, loneliness.

In this life, I avoided people like associating with them for too long would kill me. But then Ren showed up, seemingly ruining and revitalizing my life in one swoop. 

I felt like if I put up with Ren, then that was all I needed. He would do all the talking and socializing, while I could hunker back. I was his mere sidekick, his shadow, a convenient tool for helping him save the world and what-not. 

But now Ren was gone. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was on purpose. Maybe he finally got fed-up with my gloomy ways? Or even...

“Tierno.” I stopped in front of the large gates of the Tower of Mastery.

My unpredictable movements startled him, but he looked at me expectantly.

“... Do you... consider me your friend?” I bit at my lower lip. Why was I bothering to ask. I was on a totally different level from these kids. There was no way-

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

I needed a few moments to process that. 

I moved my hat so it could better shade my face. “... Just... checking.”

We entered, surrounded by an air of unease.

The room was spacious, circular. There was a giant Lucario-ish statue in the center. Stairs spiraled up the inside of the tower. The air had a musty scent.

It wasn’t like me, to take things slowly like this. With Mike gone, I suddenly felt... vulnerable again. There was no one there to tell me whether I was supposed to be thief Levi, titan-slayer Levi, or just, Rivaille. 

Rivaille. Mike said he might learn something about himself here. What connection could Rivaille and this weird, empty tower possibly have other than their, well, emptiness?

“Oh, I think he might be in there!” Tierno suggested, pointing at the door that was built into the base of the Lucario-ish statue. 

Flicking my cap up a bit, I exhausted a small sigh, trying to keep my cool. I couldn’t let them know I was a clingy, hopeless mess. I did just fine before Grace found me, and before Ren dragged me off the side of the road. I could do just fine now.

I entered the room first, mostly because Tierno shrunk back to walk behind me. 

I paused the moment I spotted the rollerskating Lucario girl. Err, the chick with the name I forgot, who happened to have a Lucario... err...

She smiled pleasantly at me as the man beside her approached us. 

“Ah, so you’ve finally arrived. Welcome! Sycamore told me you would be coming, ah...” The man squinted a bit, “Tierno and Rivaille, right?”

I arched a brow, while Tierno sputtered out a, “Whoa, you know our names? Does that mean you’re... the super guru guy?”

The man smiled softly. “Err, the mega evolution guru, yes. That isn’t my real name, though...” he corrected, “And yes, Sycamore took care in describing the five pokedex holders he would be sending here... Ah... A rather jolly fellow named Tierno, a studious boy named Trevor, a determined girl named Serena, a cheery girl named Shauna, and a rather stoic fellow named Rivaille.”

“A rather stoic fellow.” That... had a poor ring to it. But it didn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Tierno nudged me, gesturing to my pocket. It took me a moment to remember the stone he gave me.

I took it out.

“Hmm?” Guru guy hummed, looking it over, “Were you the one who found this?”

“Oh yes, definitely, it was him!” Tierno said a little louder than necessary.

I scowled. “N-no, I didn’t,” I muttered, wondering why this act was so necessary. It was just a stupid rock.

The Guru nodded in understanding. “Well, it doesn’t really matter who found it. What matters is the truth. And on the topic of truth, this rock isn’t anything special.”

I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from hissing “told you so,” to Tierno.

In the ensuing silence, voices could be heard in the tower. Loud ones, at that. 

“Ah, that must be the other three. Shall we go and meet them?” Guru asked, ushering us out.

“Heichouuu!” Shauna sang the moment she saw me, halting her hollering into the tower to hug me.

“Uh,” I managed, unsure how to deal with such a greeting, “Hi?” I guess it had been a while since I last saw her.

Trevor ignored me, which I didn’t really blame him for, while Serena gave me a small wave that I awkwardly returned. She seemed surprised by that, but didn’t comment. 

“Ah, you’re all here, good!” Guru moved to stand in front of us all, smiling warmly. Rollerblader chick stood beside him, still not saying anything.

“Um, Mr. Mega Evolution Guru? Who’s that with you?” Tierno asked, gesturing to said girl.

“Ah, this is my granddaughter Korrina,” Guru replied merrily.

KORRINA.

THAT’S IT.

“-She’s Shalour City’s Gym Leader, actually.”

Oh.

“Hi Korrina!” Shauna greeted, releasing me to grin at her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Serena greeted a lot more maturely as I skittered away to stand a little behind Tierno. Human contact. Ugh.

“Hi everyone,” Korrina greeted, glancing sideways at Guru. It seemed she was here to listen in on whatever he had to say too. Or something.

Guru nodded slowly, pleased with how things were going. I suppose old people don’t get many young visitors. Or something.

“Well, I suppose now is the time when I explain what mega evolutions are,” Guru started, sounding embarrassed, “I’m sure you all know what Pokemon evolution is?”

A simple “yes” could have been good enough, but then everyone started taking turns showing off how much they knew about evolution. I was the only one who chose to stay silent (which honestly still isn’t much of a surprise. Damn, my predictability was annoying).

“Well, Mega Evolution transcends evolution,” Guru continued, “Pokemon that were thought to not be able to evolve any further can suddenly unlock a whole new level of power.”

An evolution that transcended evolution. Right. That totally made sense.

“However, after they Mega Evolve, they can only stay in that form for a certain period of time. Also, not all Pokemon can access this power.”

That sounded... inconvenient. But life needed balance, I guess.

“We don’t know everything about how it works, unfortunately. However, we do know one major factor behind making it work is trust.”

“Trust, as in the bond between humans and their Pokemon?” Serena stuck in for clarification.

Guru nodded approvingly. “Yes, exactly. Alongside trust, the trainer also needs the right mega stone for their Pokemon, as well as a Mega Ring.” 

Shauna grinned. “That sounds so cool!” she gushed.

Strangely, Guru suddenly looked disheartened. “It... is,” he started off, exchanging glances with Korrina, “Unfortunately, while I would love to share this power with all of you... Presently, I only have one Mega Ring. It’s very hard to get, hence why my research has stalled as of late... But perhaps one of you can discover new things about its power.”

I couldn’t help but snort. This got me looks of surprise, but I didn’t make a move to explain myself aloud. Trust in people and their pokemon. What about the trust between people? Ironically, making the five of us fight over some stupid special stone was just...

“... Of course, you won’t be getting it for free. The one the five of you choose will have to defeat the Mega Evolution Successor first.”

Everyone looked at each other. 

“Well,” Tierno started, looking at me sheepishly, “Pokemon battling isn’t... really my scene. So, mega evolution would be way out of my league.”

My eyes narrowed at that, but I didn’t argue with him.

“Me too,” Shauna stuck in, sounding guilty, “It would be really cool but-”

“I want to complete the Pokedex first,” Trevor rudely stuck in.

Shauna puffed out her cheeks, but didn’t scold him for interrupting her. “So, I guess that leaves Serena and Heichou, huh?”

They all looked at me. 

I crossed my arms. “... I don’t need it,” I mumbled, averting my gaze.

“But you’re so strong!” Tierno objected, seeming surprised by my passiveness.

“He probably thinks he is too good for it,” Trevor muttered.

“I do not,” I shot back firmly, glaring the snot down.

“Well, if he doesn’t want it then...” Shauna tried to stick up for me, but Serena walked to stand in front of me. 

“... Rivaille. Let’s battle for it.” Her voice was steady and full of resolve.

I felt my body tense. “There’s no need for that,” I managed.

She frowned. “Why are you holding back? I chose to be your rival because I know you can keep up,” she questioned.

“But you don’t understand!” I wanted to shout. These kids, they weren’t on the same level as me. I was strong because I had been working with Pokemon and Pokemon battles ten more years than them. I knew the mechanics, I knew how to get around things. I knew what types beat what, what moves were good for what, what movements and order were good for what moves.

I was cheating them. It didn’t matter if we all started from square one. I was older, more experienced, stronger, wiser. I apparently had some weird aura power that may or may not have affected the things I had done.

I was... I didn’t...

“... Or maybe I was wrong.” Serena’s voice was cold all of a sudden, forcing me to look at her, “It’s fine if you’re backing down. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worthy to be a special trainer who mastered mega evolution through battle but-”

“Fine.” I thought the word aloud, evidently, as Serena’s stern expression shifted into a look of satisfaction.

“You won’t hold back?” she questioned, taking a step back.

I released a controlled sigh, moving my hand to my belt. “... If that’s what you really want.”

I didn’t want to do this. I already knew where it was going to go. How would she react? Would she just take it? Would she throw a fit? I didn’t deserve to be there. Fuck, Ren, where...?

Serena then smiled softly at me. “... Honestly? I just want to see how close you’ve grown with your Pokemon. I know my Pokemon and I have come really far... So I want to see if you’ve been treating your Pokemon with the right amount of love.”

I felt my chest tighten. I knew her words were meant to be encouraging but... Did she suspect I was cruel to them? My Pokemon? I mean, I was, at the beginning, but... was I... was I really...?

With my head still in a fog, I followed everyone to a more proper battlefield. Tierno and Shauna cheered us both on. I just stared down at the pokeball in my hand.

Was I cruel? Was that bad? Did they hate me? Resent me? Was I no good, forcing them to suffer with me? I thought back to Reiner. It was true that I softened up on him but... was that good enough? Even if I was strong, did that mean anything if they weren’t happy?

The battle started. I released Reiner, who charged Serena’s Meowstic bravely. 

I snapped out of my daze to watch Serena’s concentrated expression falter when she realized Reiner was fighting without orders. Though stocky, Reiner managed to evade Meowstic’s moves easily, propelling himself forward until he could take it down with a crunch. He then backed away from the fainted Meowstic, turning to look at me with his tail wagging excitedly.

Praise. He wanted praise.

I forced a smile. He looked disappointed. I swallowed hard. I’d have to save the praise for when we were in private.

... I was horrible, wasn’t I?

The battle didn’t change from there. Reiner managed to take down her Absol, though I pulled him back when she sent out Frogadier. 

“Oh, scared?” Serena taunted. I could tell she was struggling to maintain her composure. She was being creamed. Hardly any of her attacks were landing. And if they did, Reiner would just use the momentum to his advantage.

I scowled. “I’m not letting you hit my baby dinosaur with a super effective,” I grumbled, sending out Petra to finish the job.

And that was that.

“I... lost,” Serena’s voice was quiet. Everyone was silent. Now they knew why I was so hesitant to fight. It wasn’t because I was a cocky son of a bitch. It was because I didn’t want to hurt them.

But then she was smiling, suddenly, and that hurt even more. “Wow, your Tyrunt was so strong! I can see how much it trusts you and how much you trust it...” There was a slight pause. “Losing is frustrating but... You’ll be able to mega evolve your pokemon for sure!”

That’s when Korrina stepped in, sparing me from literally falling apart in front of them all. “There may be winners and losers in every battle, but from what I saw, all of you were winners. And besides, mega evolution is only one way to make your pokemon stronger.” Her smile was sympathetic, and mostly aimed at Serena. 

This wasn’t fair. I didn’t deserve it. If I ran away, would that make everything better again...?

“You’ll have to beat me at the gym before you can challenge the Successor,” Korrina said, this time to me, “But all of you, feel free to stop by! I’m always up for a good battle!”

Then she was gone, Serena was gone, Tierno and Trevor were gone. Shauna looked at me nervously, trying to read me, but eventually took my silence as a signal for her to leave. Only Guru stayed.

“... What troubles you, Rivaille?” He strolled over to me, observing how Petra was floating on my shoulder anxiously. She too was asking me what was wrong, but I was trying to block her out. 

The man placed a hand on my shoulder. I flinched.

“... The beauty of having someone out there better than you, is that it inspires you to work harder and reach your full potential. While it may be true that young Serena may be downtrodden by her loss, once she sees how much more she can accomplish, she’ll pick herself back up. Perhaps high enough to trump you, one day.”

I snorted lightly. I’d prefer if she punched me in the face.

Guru took my hand, which still held Reiner’s pokeball. Nudging my thumb, he let the dinosaur out, who let out a wail-roar and jumped on me.

“Noooo daddy no be sad!” he wailed, trying to snuggle up to me, “Did I do bad? I can do better!”

“N-no,” I choked out, unable to think right, “You... you did great. Like, really great. I’m... proud.”

Reiner let out a happy roar. “Hurray! That Meowstic, I beat it up good!”

“Y-yeah...” I shakily pet his beak-snout, “Maybe a little too good...”

Reiner rolled off me, tilting his head to one side. “Oh, okay. I’ll be nicer next time,” he chirped. 

Petra floated over to sit on Reiner’s head. “Rivaille, do you need someone to carry you to the Pokemon center? I’m sure we could if we tried.”

I gazed at her for a few moments before shaking my head rapidly.

Guru laughed lightly. “As I thought,” he huffed, sitting beside us, “Your bond with your Pokemon is so strong, you understand them. Tell me, son, how long have you fought beside Pokemon?”

I scratched under Reiner’s beak. He apparently liked that. “... Since I was 11,” I told him quietly.

The man nodded slowly. “And about how long ago was that?”

“... Ten years.”

“And so what?”

I looked up at him, confused. “So what?” I echoed.

He nodded eagerly, like I was on to something. “So what? Age doesn’t determine anything. You can be a fifty year old Pokemon professor and start your journey. You could know nothing about Pokemon and make it to the League. Anything is possible if you put your heart and mind to it.”

I... guess that made sense. 

“That’s a good bunch of kids you have there. You haven’t done anything wrong, so they’ll understand.”

I sighed softly. Right, right... 

At some point I left the Tower of Mastery and found an Inn to crash in. All my pokemon huddled around me, nuzzling me, letting me know they loved me and stuff. Annie stood a distance away, watching them squish me. 

She said my aura was black. Was that permanent?

I used what energy I had left to search online.

Aura changed colours according to a person’s state of mind. Aura, in general, was the life resonance all living things gave off.

I climbed into bed, letting this thought linger in my head. I was only useful to Ren because I could tell if a Pokemon was Shadow or not. I couldn’t explain how. I could just “see” it. 

“Are you feeling better now?” Hanji chirped as she caressed my face oddly with her wings, “Annie said you felt bad.”

Ah. That’s how they knew.

I reached up to tiredly pat her on the head. “Yeah, thanks...” I mumbled, stifling a yawn.

She moved her wings to squish my cheeks together. “If we didn’t like you or how you did things, we wouldn’t have let you catch and train us. So everything’s okay!”

I closed my eyes. Okay, huh?

Everything was...


End file.
